Into Our Horizon
by Florencia7
Summary: A Sparrabeth series of drabbles & short one-shots focusing on Jack & Elizabeth as parents. Post-HWMB? Jack/Elizabeth and Blaxton with occasional guest appearances of Teague, Pintel, Ragetti, and others.
1. A Step Ahead

A/N: I missed this site so much that I thought it was high time to start posting here again :)

This series of drabbles focuses on Jack & Elizabeth and Blaxton. All the drabbles are set approximately five years after the end of _Have We Met Before?_ but as they are spoilers-free, if you haven't read the story all you need to know is that Blaxton is Jack & Elizabeth's son :)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney. Blaxton belongs to me! ^^

**A Step Ahead**

"I'm a fast learner, aren't I?" A five-year-old boy exclaimed excitedly, searching his father's face for the anticipated reply.

Jack smiled, fixing a clumsily tied knot. "Aye. You learn in jig time, sailor. But you can always be faster."

"How come?" Blaxton asked curiously, darting his eyes between Jack and the knot, wondering why Jack was doing something with it, if he had already tied it so well.

"You always have to be faster than you can, and only then you will be fast enough. You always have to be a step ahead," he said, taking his hat off, and putting it on Blaxton's head to his visible delight.

"Ahead of whom?" Blaxton asked, touching the hat with his hands to make sure that it was properly placed.

Jack smiled. "Of everyone. But most importantly..." he squatted down, and said in a conspirational whisper, "of yourself."


	2. Pirates

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: PotC belong to Disney.

**Pirates**

"Jack, he will fall!" Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest, looking up with a grimace of nervousness on her face.

"Nay," answered Jack in a seemingly blank tone of voice, although his eyes remained fixed on Blaxton who was already half-way to the crow's nest.

"You shouldn't have let him," whispered Elizabeth, taking a sharp intake of breath, when the boy lost his balance, but deftly held onto the rope, and quickly resumed climbing.

"I didn't let him," shrugged Jack. "I specifically told him _not_ to climb up there."

Elizabeth darted her eyes to him. "So you didn't let him, but actually encouraged him to do that!"

Jack looked at her, eyes wide from surprise. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him, but a loud voice cut off her retort.

"Mum, Dad, look where I am!" Blaxton waved his hands enthusiastically, making himself comfortable in the crow's nest.

Elizabeth waved to him, and smiled at him brightly, but then turned to Jack, her smile gone. "Now encourage him to get down," she whispered through her gritted teeth, and stormed off.

Jack shook his head with amusement, and looked up. "When will you be going down, sailor?" he called.

Blaxton reluctantly tore his eyes off the ocean around him. "I'm going to stay here _forever_!" he shouted cheerfully.

Jack wrinkled his forehead, and shot a pouty look at Elizabeth who was looking at him from the helm with a triumphant smile on her face.


	3. An Ordinary Day

A/N: Just to let you know, I'm planning on having 88 drabbles in this series. For sentimental reasons, obviously ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**An Ordinary Day**

"That's _so_ funny!" Blaxton laughed, squatting down, and looking at the flag in Elizabeth's hands interestedly.

"What's _so _funny, sailor?" asked Jack, approaching, and without warning grabbing his son from the deck, and hoisting him up in the air to his loudly expressed joy.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, and smiled.

"That the flag has a name!" explained Blaxton, pointing to the flag that Elizabeth was mending. "It's name is Roger," he said, laughing again, and pronouncing the word as if it was exceptionally funny.

"Firstly, it's _Jolly_ Roger, if ye please," said Jack widening his eyes at him. "Secondly, 'course it has a name. Why shouldn't it? You have a name, your Mum has a name, our ship has a-"

"Mr. Cotton's parrot doesn't have a name," cut in Blaxton matter-of-factly.

Elizabeth chuckled.

"'Course it has a name," said Jack, twitching his nose. Blaxton raised his eyebrows. Elizabeth looked at Jack with a smile. Jack squinted. "It's name is... Mr. Cotton's parrot," he said in a very serious tone of voice.

There was a moment of silence, and then the three of them laughed.


	4. Jolly Roger Hunt

A/N: Thank you so much for all the great reviews! :]

Disclaimer: _PotC_ belong to Disney.

**Jolly Roger Hunt**

"Aye. But what does it _mean_?" Blaxton emphasized the word, hoping to make his question clearer, but Pintel and Ragetti kept glancing at each other in confusion.

"It's the skull with them bones," Pintel said very slowly, pointing to the picture on the flag.

"I know," Blaxton said with a sigh. "But why they are there? What for?"

Pintel frowned, and huffed in exasperation. He was repeating his explanation for the fifth time already, and the kid would just not have it.

"It's a sign," offered all of a sudden Ragetti with a shrug, as if it was an obvious answer.

Pintel wrinkled his forehead, shooting him a why-didn't-ye-bloody-say-it-earlier look.

"A sign?" The boy's eyes lit up with excitement. "A sign of what?"

Blaxton and Pintel looked at Ragetti expectantly. He looked at them for a moment, blinking, then took the piece of cloth from Pintel's hands, and looked at it intently for a longer while.

"It's a map," he said at last, turning the flag for them to see, and indicating the scull with his forefinger. Blaxton leaned forward to see better whatever there was that could possibly be seen better. Pintel's eyebrows knitted, and he glanced up at Ragetti with skepticism.

Blaxton twitched his nose. "Not a sign?" he asked, looking between the flag and Ragetti.

"A map is a big sign," Pintel said with a frown.

"So," continued Ragetti, "here is the sea," he said indicating the background of the flag. "Here-"

"Why is the sea black?" cut in Blaxton wrinkling his nose.

Pintel shook his head, and muttered something under his breath. "'Cause it's black!" he said impatiently.

"Here is an island," Ragetti went on with his explanation. "With two caves," he outlined the circles with his finger. "An' here," he pointed to the bones, "is an... x."

Blaxton's eyebrows raised slowly. "An _x_?"

"Aye. It marks..." started Pintel, but then stopped with a frown. "It marks..." he elbowed Ragetti.

"It marks where the treasure is," stated Ragetti matter-of-factly, and Pintel smiled, but then glanced at Ragetti questioningly.

Blaxton shifted his eyes between the two pirates and the flag. "So... how do we find it?" he asked, squinting.

"Find what?" Pintel shot him a puzzled look.

"The treasure!" said Blaxton gesturing to the Jolly Roger.

Pintel and Ragetti exchanged uncertain glances.

"I just remembered it's our shift in the galley," said Pintel, grabbing Ragetti by his shirt sleeve, and dragging him away, leaving Blaxton staring at the flag with great intensity.


	5. All Are True

A/N: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**...& All Are True**

"But I really, _really _want to hear it again!" Blaxton jumped in his bed, throwing a pillow up in the air, catching it, and pressing it against his face.

"But it's really, _really_ late," said Elizabeth in a playfully menacing voice.

Blaxton laughed. "But I want to hear about you and the skeletons again!" he pushed himself to the upright position and put the pillow on his head, stretching his arms, and balancing the pillow so it would not fall down. "Or maybe," Blaxton narrowed his eyes, as if remembering something, "About the Kraken!" he said, taking the pillow off his head, eyes shining with excitement.

Elizabeth froze. "About what?" she whispered disbelievingly.

"About the Kraken!" Blaxton scooted closer to her. "About when it attacked our ship," said Blaxton, throwing the pillow in the air, and punching it, causing it to fly across the room and smash against the door.

"Who told you this?" asked Elizabeth incredulously, baffled by Blaxton's cheerfulness.

"Dad did," replied Blaxton, climbing onto her lap, and slightly ruffling her hair with his little hands, throwing several loose strands over her eyes.

"And... what did Dad tell you... exactly?" Elizabeth did not brush her hair away, and instead only pursed her lips disapprovingly, causing her son to laugh and push more of her locks over her eyes, curtaining her face almost completely.

"That he wanted to stay on board and you wanted to stay with him," recounted Blaxton quickly, wrapping Elizabeth's hair around his fists. "But he wanted you to escape so he shackled you to the longboat," he said with a chuckle, apparently very much amused by the image.

"Oh," whispered Elizabeth. "And what happened next?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Dad!" exclaimed Blaxton all of a sudden, and instead of giving her an answer, slid off Elizabeth's lap, and ran to Jack who had just entered the cabin.

"How is it that you're not asleep yet, sailor?" asked Jack hoisting Blaxton up in the air.

Elizabeth rose to her feet, pushing her hair off her face, and giving Jack a stern look. He glanced at her, a bit puzzled as to the reason for that only too familiar look, but his confusion was quickly cleared:

"I want to hear about the Kraken again!" announced Blaxton, smiling happily. Jack shoot Elizabeth a quick look, but she only crossed her arms over her chest, and continued looking at him sternly."I think," Blaxton wrapped his arms around Jack's neck, and whispered into his ear: "I think Mum forgot that story," he said in a conspirational tone.

"Did she now?" asked Jack, smirking. "Well, we shall refresh her memory then, aye?"

"Aye!" exclaimed Blaxton, laughing when Jack tossed him back onto his bed.

"I'm not sure I want to hear it," muttered Elizabeth, narrowing her eyes at Jack with a small pout.

Jack slumped down on the edge of the bed, and pulled Elizabeth onto his lap. "Oh, I'm sure you do, love."

"You surely do, Mum," Blaxton assured her vigorously. "It's great how you got those shackles off, climbed back and threatened the Kraken to give Dad his hat back! Isn't it, Dad?"

Elizabeth blinked, now utterly confused. Jack pressed his cheek to Elizabeth's. "It certainly is," Elizabeth took a sharp intake of breath and Jack hugged her closer. "Just wait until the part when, while we were trapped in the Locker you caught a pair of talking crabs," he whispered into her ear, and kissed her on the cheek.

Elizabeth shifted her eyes to him, and after a moment returned his smile and rested her forehead against his.

"Mum, Dad, I'm telling a story," complained Blaxton resignedly.

"Aye," Jack pushed Elizabeth's boots off her feet, and she scooted further onto the bed, and sat with her back against the headboard.

"Carry on, mate!" said Jack, taking off his boots, and joining her, waving his hand at Blaxton with a smile, and draping his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders.

"So," Blaxton swirled around, and sat cross-legged on the bed, facing his parents, "Mum was sitting in the longboat and..."


	6. Naïveté

A/N: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: _PotC_ belong to Disney.

_**Naïveté**_

"What is he doin'?" Pintel asked for the third time, wrinkling his forehead, and looking in stupefaction at Blaxton, who kept running across the deck with a look of deep concentration on his face.

"He's goin' to mark the middle of the ship," said Ragetti leaning against the rail and crossing his arms over his chest.

Pintel shifted his eyes to him, and then glanced at Blaxton who ran in front of them again. "How?"

"Well," Ragetti cleared his throat. "He started from the bow. He took a step and marked it with the chalk. Then he ran to the stern an' marked a step away from it. Then he ran back to the bow an' marked a step from his first step, an' then ran to the stern an-"

"What for?" Pintel looked at Ragetti in bafflement, but Ragetti only shrugged his shoulders in response.

* * *

"Jack, this is cruel," protested Elizabeth, tilting her head to the side nonetheless, and allowing him to trail soft kisses across her neck.

"What's cruel about running?" Jack asked, sliding his hands underneath her shirt. "I'd rather worry that he'll come up with some kind of a shortcut," added Jack with a twitch of his nose.

Elizabeth snorted, pulling her shirt over her head and throwing it across the room. "At five? No, I really don't think so," she said with a smile, pulling Jack into a kiss.

* * *

"Ye done?" Ragetti asked when Blaxton instead of running from one side of the ship to the other suddenly turned toward the stairs.

"No!" Blaxton called over his shoulder. "I just need a new chalk!" he added, running down the stairs and heading for his parents' cabin.


	7. Souvenirs

A/N: Thank you so much for all the great reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Souvenirs**

"No, not this one!" Jack shook his head, taking a piece of rope from Blaxton.

"Why not? I found it in the wardrobe. It's not being used for anything," protested Blaxton following his father down the stairs.

"It's not supposed to be used for anything. It's supposed to... be," explained Jack, opening the door to the captain's quarters, and returning the rope to the wardrobe, a hint of reverence in his gestures triggering Blaxton's curiosity even more.

"How come?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.

"It has a story to it," said Jack closing the wardrobe, and turning toward Blaxton.

The boy's eyes widened at an instant. "What kind of story?"

Jack smiled mysteriously, and half-knelt on one knee to have his face on the same level as his son. "How much do you know about making parachutes out of torn sails?" he asked, squinting.


	8. Marred Elegance

A/N: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**Marred Elegance**

"He's five years old, Lizzie. He can get dressed all by himself." Jack took Elizabeth's hand in his, pulling her away from the door.

"I'm just not sure if what you said to him was enough," countered Elizabeth, smoothing out her dress, and scrutinizing Jack's suit critically.

"Are you ready, sailor?" Jack knocked on Blaxton's door.

There was a moment of silence, followed by a slightly strained 'aye'.

"I told him that we're going on a grand, secret adventure and that he has to be as elegant as possible," said Jack with a reassuring smile, pushing the door open. "I think it was a rather suff-"

Elizabeth darted her eyes to him, and then quickly stepped forward to look into the cabin, her eyes widening at the sight of Blaxton smiling at them proudly.

Jack cleared his throat, stifling a chuckle.

A small fork clattered to the floor from where it was tied into Blaxton's hair, snapping Elizabeth back to the reality. With a small pout, Blaxton bent down to pick up the fork, causing a silver bracelet, a couple of old rings, and shark's teeth found in a drawer (all woven into his hair with pieces of colorful threads) to jingle.

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing. "You have five minutes to straighten out your son's notions of elegance," she whispered through clenched teeth, shooting Jack a pointed look and storming out of the cabin.

Jack regarded Blaxton's freshly tattered shirt, a sash made out of handkerchiefs tied together, and an ink blotch on his forearm with narrowed eyes.

Blaxton looked up at him sadly. "Mum didn't like it," he said worriedly.

"'Course she did!" bellowed Jack causing the boy's eyes to widen. "Today it's simply not the most opportune moment for this particular attire," he added smilingly in a softer tone. "Here," he pulled a new shirt out of one of the drawers, and handed it to Blaxton.

Blaxton took the shirt, looking at it dejectedly.

Jack squatted down, and looked at him intently for a moment. "Good knots," he said matter-of-factly, inspecting the way in which Blaxton had tied all the small objects into his hair. "Do you need help untying them?" he asked cautiously, glancing up at the boy while wiping the ink off his forearm with a piece of cloth.

Blaxton slowly shook his head.

"Alright," Jack stood up and headed for the door. "On the deck in four minutes, then" he said, opening the door. Blaxton sighed.

Jack went out of the cabin, but then turned around and peered inside once again. "I liked the fork," he whispered with a wink, and closed the door, leaving Blaxton with a happy grin on his face.


	9. Rationale

A/N: Thank you so much for all the fantastic reviews! :]

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Rationale**

Jack looked up from the map when he heard the door being pushed open, and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Blaxton cheerfully running in.

"Dad, can I help you with plotting the course?" Blaxton leaned over the edge of the table to peer at the map.

Jack narrowed his eyes at him, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "I thought you were helping Mum with sewing?..."

Blaxton fidgeted. "I was," he said after a pause, his eyes fixed on the map. "But then I... French left when Mum went to get something from the galley," he added quickly.

Jack blinked, but then his face brightened. "You mean you took a French leave?" he asked, stifling a chuckle.

Blaxton nodded with a smile, and climbed onto Jack's lap. "Uncle Gibbs said you were taking it all the time," he added, reaching out for a divider.

"Did he now?" Jack askd with a smile, helping Blaxton position one of the spikes on Montserrat. „Did he explain what it means?"

"It means that when you want to leave you don't tell anybody that you want to leave because you don't want to bother them," explained Blaxton in one breath. "Right?" he glanced up at Jack, and then placed the other spike on the map, as Jack had indicated for him to do.

"I see. You didn't want to _bother _Mum. That's why you sneaked out when she wasn't looking," Jack said, trying to keep amusement out of his voice, slightly correcting the position of the divider.

Blaxton shook his head. "I didn't sneak out. I-"

"I'm not sure Mum will look at it that way," Jack let go of Blaxton's hand, allowing him to rotate the divider by himself.

"Oh," said Blaxton a bit sadly. "How come?" he leaned over the map, concentrating on walking the divider along the indicated line, and counting the divider's steps under his breath.

"She might think you ran away-"

"I didn't!"

"I know. But Mum _might_ think that you ran away, because you didn't want to learn how to mend clothes..." Jack glanced at his son who wrinkled his forehead, apparently pondering whether he should rather deny or confirm his dad's suggestion. Jack waited for a moment to give him a chance to make his choice, which turned out to be diplomatic silence. Jack smirked to himself and continued. "So next time instead of taking a French leave, better use a magical word, which happens to be French as well."

"A magical word?" Blaxton looked at Jack over his shoulder, intrigued.

"Aye. Next time Mum asks you to help her with sewing, say _Parley_," Jack said with a wink.

"Parley," echoed Blaxton, fascinated. "I'll try it out right now!" he exclaimed cheerfully, quickly taking one of Jack's hand in his, and placing it over the divider to keep it from falling when he let go of it. Then, he slid off Jack's lap, and ran to the door.

"But..." started Jack when Blaxton was already out of the cabin and out of the hearing range. "Don't tell Mum it was me who..." he sighed, and hid his head in his hands, wincing.


	10. Solicitude

A/N: Thank you so much for all the great reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Solicitude**

Blaxton stepped on a small stool that was standing rather shakily on another stool, and reached into the wardrobe, pulling a thick, soft blanket out of it. Having almost lost his balance, but somehow managing not to fall, he got down, and crept toward the door. Cautiously, he pressed the doorknob and walked into the dimly lit room.

Trying not to let the blanket touch the floor, he unfolded the fabric, and after struggling with it for a moment and getting half-tangled in it, he carefully draped it over Elizabeth's sleeping form.

Climbing onto the bed next to her, he pulled the blanket all the way up under her chin, and then leaned down, and kissed her tear-stained cheek, curling up next to her, placing one of his hands under his head, his other hand getting hold of a few strands of Elizabeth's hair.

"Don't tell Dad I cried," whispered Elizabeth, and Blaxton started a bit at finding her awake, but then smiled, and she smiled back at him, pulling him closer to her.

"You thought that that man said _Black Pearl_, and he really said _Black Earl_. Right, Mum?" Blaxton laughed, glancing up at her.

"It just sounded just like Dad, escaping the Royal Navy and sailing right into the storm," said Elizabeth with a frown.

"I knew Dad couldn't get hurt," said Blaxton decidedly, making a knot out of two strands of Elizabeth's hair.

"That man should've given me the letter from Dad first, and _then _talk about destroyed ships," said Elizabeth with a small pout.

Blaxton made another knot out of her hair, and then tried to tie both knots together. "Mum?" he asked after a pause.

"Yes?" Elizabeth smiled, and ran her hand through Blaxton's hair

"Why were you crying? If it wasn't the _Black Pearl_-"

"But it could've been," cut in Elizabeth in a low voice, squinting pensively into the semi-darkness.

Blaxton let go of her hair and sat upright, shaking his head vigorously. "Dad couldn't get hurt. He is Captain Jack Sparrow!" he explained enthusiastically.

"Yes," said Elizabeth with a gleeful smile. "This is exactly what he wrote in his letter. Which is not going to save him the trouble of explaining his leaving us in Shipwreck Cove for a fortnight longer that it was planned," she added, absently lifting her hand to brush a few loose locks behind her ear, but finding the simple task strangely impossible. She shifted her eyes from the knots in her hair to Blaxton, who raised his eyebrows, pretending not to know what was wrong.

After a brief moment of looking at each other in silence they both started to laugh.


	11. Pirate Secrets

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :]

Disclaimer: _PotC _belong to Disney.

**Pirate Secrets**

It has been five days since Jack's announcement, and Blaxton could hardly wait for the day when they would finally make port and go ashore.

He tried to imagine what it was that he was about to receive? Was it going to be a cutlass? a sword? a pistol? He only knew it was going to be something _very_ important - something that every pirate ought to have - and so he had not even dared to ask what it was, afraid that perhaps he should know what it was without asking.

"Ah. Here it is," Jack pushed the door open, and Blaxton ran inside, excitedly looking around the shop in search of his future weapon.

And it took him more than a few seconds of blinking and wrinkling his forehead to finally accept the strange fact that there were no weapons in the shop.

A woman emerged from a back door and greeted them with a smile.

"We need a coat for this young sailor here," Jack said, but then shifted his eyes to Blaxton who lightly tugged on his hand. Jack leaned down toward him, quickly glancing right and left. "Is something amiss?" he asked in a conspirational tone.

"I thought we'd get something more..." Blaxton took a deep breath, "pointy," he said hopefully.

"Pointy," echoed Jack matter-of-factly, trying not to smile. "I'm afraid your Mum wouldn't approve of something more pointy than a hat just yet," said Jack widening his eyes at Blaxton's hat meaningfully.

Blaxton considered this for a moment. "Maybe we could... tell her about it... later?..." he said cautiously in a very low voice.

Jack narrowed his eyes at him in a small smirk. "And you could keep such a secret for say... seven years?"

"Aye," said Blaxton after a pause with as much conviction in his voice as he could muster.

"Very well," said Jack, adjusting the hat on Blaxton's head. "We shall get something more pointy after the coat, then."

Blaxton beamed.

* * *

"Mum?"

Elizabeth tucked a bed cover around Blaxton and smiled. "Yes?"

"Are seven years a long time?" Blaxton asked, his eyebrows knitted in thought.

"Well," Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him. "It's quite long, I guess."

"Could you tell me when the seven years, counting from today, will be over?" asked Blaxton in a serious tone, looking at her intently.

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Of course," she said with a smile. "But... why?"

Blaxton shook his head dismissively, and rolled onto his side, stifling a yawn. "I will just have something to tell you then," he muttered sleepily, pressing his cheek against the pillow.

Elizabeth sat in silence stroking Blaxton's hair and waiting for him to fall asleep, thinking about what he had said, the understanding dawning on her a moment later. She rolled her eyes and leaned down, brushing a kiss across Blaxton's forehead. "And I think I have something to ask your Dad about _right now_," she whispered to herself, taking one last look at Blaxton and swiftly rising to her feet.


	12. Inexplicableness

A/N: The quote at the beginning comes from _Titus Andronicus _:) (because little children love reading Shakespeare lol)

Disclaimer: Pintel, Ragetti, etc. belong to Disney.

**Inexplicableness**

"..._And whilst the babbling echo_... _mocks the hounds, replying shrilly to the well-tuned horns_-" Blaxton stopped reading, and wrinkled his nose. "What's the babbling echo?" he asked, turning his head to look at Pintel and Ragetti who were sitting next to him on the steps.

"It's the echo that babbles," Pintel explained, nodding for him to read on.

"But what is an echo?" insisted Blaxton, looking at him expectantly.

"It's a kind of voice," offered Ragetti.

"Whose voice?" Blaxton closed the book, keeping his small hand inside it in order not to lose the last page they had been reading.

"Nobody's voice," said Pintel, furrowing his brows.

"Actually," Ragetti took out his wooden eye, and after a brief inspection put it back in. "It's more like everybody's voice."

Blaxton blinked, his interest growing. "Everybody's voice?"

Pintel rolled his voice. "It's not a real voice."

"It is a real voice," countered Ragetti. "Only... it's a voice of your voice, more like."

Blaxton squinted, but having several years of experience in dealing with the strangest sentence structures he was not to be easily discouraged. "A voice of a voice," he repeated, his eyebrows knitting in thought.

"Aye." Ragetti nodded.

Blaxton pondered his words for a moment. "How does it sound?" he asked at last, tilting his head to the side.

Pintel and Ragetti exchanged uncertain glances. "It sounds..." started Pintel, "hollow," he stated decidedly.

"It sounds just like yer voice," interjected Ragetti, "only... later."

Blaxton looked at him for a few moments in silence until he made up his mind, jumped to his feet, and pushed the book into his hands. "I'll go ask Mum and be right back," he said, and quickly ran down the stairs, not even remembering that he had promised his parents not to interrupt them in a very important discussion they were having in their cabin...


	13. A Field Trip

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: Disney owns _PotC_.

**A Field Trip**

"From _there_?" Blaxton's eyes widened in admiration as he uttered the sentence still half-holding his breath. "Mum, you really jumped from there!?" he asked excitedly, mesmerized by the fort's height and the way the bell shone in the sunlight.

Elizabeth laughed. "Actually, I fe-"

Jack's hand covered Elizabeth's mouth, and he brought his lips close to her ear. "_Jumped_ sounds better, love," he whispered, wrapping his arm around her waist, and pulling her against him.

Elizabeth snorted, turning her head to look at Jack over her shoulder. "It sounds good when he's five. When he'll be twenty, he'll think I was mad," she whispered back.

"Not mad, Lizzie," Jack shook his head. "Courageous," he breathed, and kissed her on the cheek when she laughed.

"Dad!" Blaxton leaped toward them. "Where were you when Mum jumped?"

"On a ship," Jack squinted into the distance. "Somewhere over there."

Blaxton followed Jack's hand, shifting his eyes between the fort and the sea. He ran from his parents to the water edge and back, gesticulating. "You dove, pulled Mum out of the water and put her..." he slowly spun around, as if trying to decide where the exact place was.

"Right there," Jack said, taking Elizabeth's hand in his, and pulling her with him toward Blaxton. "Under your right foot, sailor," he smiled.

Blaxton quickly lifted his right foot and hopped away from the spot.

"Now," Jack indicated the ground with a flourish of his hand. "Let us reenact-"

"I don't think this is the best idea," protested Elizabeth. "We're not supposed to draw attention to us while we're here," she added in a low voice, but then noticing two pouts forming almost simultaneously on two faces, she rolled her eyes with a sigh, and then to Blaxton's gleeful smile, theatrically dropped to the ground, throwing her arm over her head.

Jack chivalrously knelt next to her, and Elizabeth tried very hard not to laugh, but watching Jack's face through half-lidded eyes was not helping her at all.

Blaxton sat down on the ground, watching the scene with great interest. He had seen a play only once before, when they had visited England, and it was very similar to what was happening now, with the exception that in the theater he could not have been that close to the stage.

But then, out of the corner of his eye he noticed something and looked up, and Jack was half-way through Elizabeth's imaginary corset when Blaxton drew his attention to the fort, and to a person in a red uniform staring at them from above.

Hurriedly, Jack helped Elizabeth to her feet, and then swept Blaxton into his arms. "Seems we need to have an intermezzo," he narrowed his eyes in a quick smile.

"But we didn't even see the jail yet!" protested Blaxton with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Unless we want to see it from the inside, I say we postpone it to another visit!" Jack said as they ran, and the three of them began to laugh.


	14. Take What You Can

A/N: Thank you so much for all the fantastic reviews! :]

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Take What You Can**

"I just stepped over here and then here and-" Blaxton wrinkled his nose looking from the shelves to the wall, while Jack was listening to him with well-concealed amusement. "Then I tripped over here..." the boy pointed to the rum cellar's floor, "fell like this..." Very slowly, Blaxton leaned forward raising one of his feet off the ground and reaching out with his hands. "And then my hand went like this..." He made his hand fly forward very quickly. "I accidentally grabbed one of the bottles and then the rest just... crushed to the ground," he concluded with a deep sigh, straightening up.

The door opened, and Elizabeth peered into the rum cellar. "Here you are," she said with a smile, walking in.

"Our son has just explained to me how he got three dozens of rum bottles broken," said Jack in a serious voice, narrowing his eyes in a barely perceptible smile.

Elizabeth shifted her eyes to Blaxton, who tilted his head to the side, pouting a little. "It was an accident," he stated with much more conviction in his voice than when he was recounting the unfortunate event.

"I'm sure it was," agreed Jack, rising to his feet from a barrel. "Now. What are we going to do about this?"

Blaxton pursed his lips, as if in deep thought, and after a moment of consideration proposed bravely: "I won't eat any desserts for the next..."

"Two weeks," offered Jack, and Elizabeth was about to intervene, not wanting to have Blaxton deprived of his favorite dessert for so long, but Jack silenced her by taking her hand in his and squeezing it lightly.

"Aye!" Blaxton nodded thinking that two weeks could not be a very long amount of time. After all, two was a small number.

"Very well," Jack acknowledged the self-chosen punishment with a nod, and Elizabeth waited until Blaxton ran out of the rum cellar (with a bit too much of joyful agility in his step) before turning to Jack with a questioning look on her face.

Jack smiled. "The bottles that got broken were from there," he said indicating the shelf. "There is no way he could reach that high," he whispered into Elizabeth's ear and they both laughed.

* * *

"Thank ye, mate. We'll ne'er forget 'bout this," said Pintel convincingly.

"Aye. We'd be in trouble if-" started Ragetti, but Pintel interrupted him angrily.

"We!? It was all yer fault," he hissed, glaring at Ragetti, but then turned to Blaxton with a sweetish smile. "So did ye decide what ye wanted in return for that little favor?"

"Could I have your desserts for the next..." Blaxton hesitated for a fraction of a second, "three weeks?" He held his breath waiting for an answer, and grinned happily when Pintel and Ragetti nodded their heads in agreement.


	15. A Family Night

A/N: This takes place at Shipwreck Cove ;)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**A Family Night**

"Dad..."

Jack shifted in his sleep, burying his face deeper into Elizabeth's hair.

"Dad..."

The voice was quiet, and yet insistent enough to at last break through Jack's dreams. Twitching his nose, he drowsily turned around and blinked his eyes open.

Blaxton let go of the bed cover, sighing in relief that Jack had at last woken up. "Dad, what does," he took a deep breath in order not to say the memorized word wrong, _retrenchment _mean?"

Jack looked at him for a moment, then glanced around to make sure that it was still, as he suspected, the middle of the night. "Retrenchment."

Blaxton nodded in all seriousness.

"Well," Jack propped himself on an elbow and rubbed his eyes. "It's when you can't have as much of what you want to have as you'd like to have."

Blaxton wrinkled his forehead, but then his face brightened, and he happily jumped to his feet. "Thank you, Dad," he whispered and ran out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Jack looked at the door for a moment yet, and then lie back down, but it was not long before the door opened again, and Blaxton ran inside.

"Dad, what does... _defrauded_ mean?" he asked with a small frown, and having received the answer ran out of the room, leaving Jack with his eyes fixed on the closed door.

Elizabeth rolled over, and stifling a yawn pushed herself upwards, placing her chin on Jack's shoulder. "Whatever it is, we should be there before Teague," she said drowsily with her eyes still closed.

Jack leaned his head against hers with a smile. "My sentiments exactly."

* * *

The corridor was almost completely dark, so it was not hard to notice a thin strip of light coming from under one of the doors.

"I hope it's something repairable, otherwise we'll have to set sail within the next quarter of an hour, and there is no rum aboard," he whispered over his shoulder, and Elizabeth smiled amusedly.

Cautiously, Jack pressed the doorknob, and they walked inside. The room was dark, except for a lantern set up next to the Pirata Codex, the light embracing the small space around the book and Blaxton who was leaning over it, standing on two unsteady stools, one placed over the other, the sight that caused Elizabeth to leap toward him and catch him in her arms at once.

"You could've fallen down!" she whispered concernedly cupping his face in her hands.

"I wouldn't fall down, Mum!" protested Blaxton. "I was careful," he stated firmly, remembering that it was one of Mum's favorite words.

"That's very good," cut in Jack, squatting down on the floor next to Elizabeth. "But... what is it that keeps you... and us awake so late, sailor?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in a small smile.

Blaxton frowned slightly at the question, an expression of worry appearing on his face. "Grandpa said that every pirate should know the Code," he said with a small pout, and looked at his parents who were waiting patiently for him to continue. "But it's _so_ hard to memorize," he added dejectedly.

"Memorize?" Jack and Elizabeth echoed in unison, glancing at the Code.

"I already memorized first three lines," said Blaxton thrusting up his chin.

"I can assure you that's more than Grandpa remembers," observed Jack with a smile, and Elizabeth shot him a half-heartedly scolding look.

Then, the sound of footsteps in the corridor silenced them all and they looked at each other hesitatingly.

"Over there," said Jack quickly, put the stools away, doused the lamp, and followed Elizabeth and Blaxton who had already ducked under a heavy tablecloth and hid under the table.

"I don't know if-" started Elizabeth, but trailed off when they heard the room's door being pushed open. Blaxton held his breath.

The door was shut closed, and after a series of slow and heavy footsteps somebody slumped into a chair, and... started playing the guitar.

Jack winced and covered his face with his hands.

"It's not that bad," Elizabeth whispered into his ear with a smile.

But her smile faltered when Jack looked at her, shook his head, and whispered into her ear. "He can do this all night, Lizzie."


	16. Of Hats & Flour

A/N: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Of Hats & Flour**

"Have you seen Blaxton today?"

To Elizabeth's surprise Ragetti nodded, and told her that Blaxton had come into the galley very early, asking for flour.

"Flour?" Jack gave her a doubtful look when she reported to him what she had found out.

"Now it's your turn," Elizabeth ducked under his arm, overtaking the helm. "I searched everywhere."

"Don't worry, Lizzie." Jack unwrapped a piece of lace from around his wrist, gathered Elizabeth's loose hair with his hand, and tied it with the lace. "He wouldn't row away taking only flour with him," he said with a smile, and Elizabeth snorted.

* * *

Before Jack opened the rum cellar's door, he heard a scratchy noise, and then a swishing sound, followed by a series of beats.

Wrinkling his forehead, he cautiously pushed the door open. The door creaked, startling Blaxton, who jumped up and swirled around, quickly hiding something behind his back.

Jack glanced around the cellar noticing flour sprinkled on the ground, a piece of coal, several tools, and an inkwell. He shifted his eyes back to Blaxton who smiled bravely, despite a hint of distress in his eyes.

Jack suppressed a smile, briefly looked outside as if to make sure that nobody was following him, closed the door and took several steps toward his son. "May I join in the secret?" he squatted down in front of Blaxton, narrowing his eyes in a small, conspirational smile.

Hesitatingly and somewhat resignedly, Blaxton revealed what he was hiding.

Jack blinked, only after a moment recognizing the object in Blaxton's hand. Carefully, Jack took Blaxton's hat from him. Apparently, it was the very same, brand-new hat that had been bought for Blaxton mere two days ago.

"What's happened to the hat?" asked Jack cautiously, looking at the tormented covering for the head which now looked as if somebody crumpled it, stomped on it, trampled over it, dragged it across the gritty surface several times, and rubbed... some flour, coal and ink into it. Jack twitched his nose, stifling a chuckle.

"I was trying..." Blaxton inhaled sharply. "I wanted it to look _battered_," he said with a sigh of sadness, glancing at Jack's hat, and then looking dejectedly at his own.

Jack extended his hand and squinted critically, regarding Blaxton's hat expertly for a moment. "It looks perfectly battered to me," he stated after a suspenseful pause.

Blaxton's face brightened and he quickly proceeded to excitedly explaining in detail everything he had done to the hat to make it look that way.

"Here," Jack took his own hat off his head and handed it to Blaxton. "I'd like some ink on it too," he said with a smile. "And some flour!"


	17. Captain Dolittle

A/N: Thank you so much for all the great reviews! :)

Disclaimer: _PotC_ belong to Disney.

**Captain Dolittle**

"So which one do you want?" asked Elizabeth with a smile, squatting down next to Blaxton, and taking his hand in hers. "You wanted a cat, didn't you?" she prompted, looking between the three little kittens and Blaxton, who for some reason did not look even half as enthusiastic as an hour ago.

"But Mum..." Blaxton wrinkled his nose. "I wanted a _wild_ cat."

The owner of the cats chuckled. "These are very wild, I assure you," he said with a wink, handing Blaxton one of the kittens.

Elizabeth smiled. "They are just very little-" she trailed off when Blaxton gently put the kitten down, and turned to her.

"Mum. Wild cats have _manes_," he explained with a sigh.

Elizabeth blinked. "Not all of them..." she started cautiously, but Blaxton firmly shook his head.

"I want the one I saw in the book. The one with a mane."

Elizabeth looked at him, not sure what to say, but then an idea crossed her mind and she smiled.

* * *

"Come in."

The door to the Captain's Quarters opened, and Blaxton walked inside, carrying a kitten in his arms.

"Ah," Jack looked up from the map. "How did it go? You found a cat, I see."

"Aye," Blaxton nodded, placing the kitten on Jack's desk. "Dad... Mum said you would fix him," said Blaxton holding the kitten so it would not try running off Jack's desk.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "What's wrong with him?" asked Jack after a pause, eyeing the kitten uncertainly.

"He needs a mane," said Blaxton, stroking the cat's head a few times with a smile, before running to the door. "So he'd look like real a wild cat," he added matter-of-factly. "I'll come back after my dinner!" he called, closing the door behind him.

Jack stared at the door for a moment, and then shifted his eyes to the kitten which kept tapping the compass on Jack's desk with its tiny paw.

"I do hope you at least know how to roar," Jack said, narrowing his eyes at the kitten, which made a very quiet, whining noise. Jack chuckled. "That's what I thought."


	18. Late Night Visitors

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :]

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Late Night Visitors**

"Where's Mum?"

Jack's eyes blinked open, and he squinted into the dark, making out a small shape which, after feeling an empty space with his hands, quickly climbed onto the bed.

"She's out in the rain," Jack answered a bit dejectedly. "Don't you know what day is today, sailor?"

"No!" exclaimed Blaxton, sitting cross-legged on the bed, and looking at Jack's dark shape with great interest. "What day is today?"

"Your Grandma and Grandpa's – Mum's parents, that is – wedding anniversary. That's why Mum has a little conversation with them right now," said Jack with a small sigh, leaning his head against the headboard.

Blaxton leaned forward on his elbows, contemplating this for a moment. "How come?" he asked after a pause, wrinkling his nose. "How come Mum talks with Grandma and Grandpa when it's raining?"

Jack smiled. "She did take my coat," he said with a wink.

"But Mum won't hear anything in the rain!" said Blaxton glancing at the window.

"Oh that," Jack smiled. "Well-"

"What kind of a secret gathering is this?"

"Mum!" Blaxton laughed when Elizabeth suddenly appeared by the bed, and began tickling him. "Mum! You're all wet!"

"That's because it's raining," Elizabeth answered, shrugging Jack's coat off her shoulders, and throwing it on its owner who muttered a stifled protest.

"Couldn't you talk to Grandma and Grandpa on another day?" Blaxton asked, while Elizabeth snuggled into Jack's outstretched arm, pulling Blaxton onto her lap. She smiled, and opened her mouth to answer, but Blaxton continued. "Last time I saw them we were going ashore at that very moment, so I couldn't talk to them then, but I did on the next evening," he said casually, catching rain-soaked strands of Elizabeth's hair between his palms and squeezing the rain out of them.

"Who, sweetheart?" Elizabeth asked uncertainly after exchanging a questioning look with Jack.

"Grandma and Grandpa," said Blaxton, somewhat amused by the necessity to repeat what was apparently obvious.

Elizabeth stared at him in bewilderment. Jack briefly placed his hand on Blaxton's forehead. "Cold," he whispered to Elizabeth, and despite the darkness around them she could imagine the smirk on his face, even though she hardly considered the situation funny.

"Are you sure it was them?" Jack asked matter-of-factly in a louder voice.

Blaxton nodded.

"A couple of friendly ghosts every once in a while can't be too bad, Lizzie," said Jack reassuringly, leaning toward her. "_Many_ ghosts visiting _all_ the time; now _that _would've been a problem. But as you can see," he pointed to himself, "even that can't damage one's sanity much."

"I wouldn't risk such a conclusion," Elizabeth whispered back. "Unless _much _is being the most important part of your statement."

Jack narrowed his eyes at her.

"I see them _sometimes_," Blaxton cut in, preoccupied with Elizabeth's hair and his own thoughts. "But I can see the other Grandma almost every night!" he said happily, shaking Jack and Elizabeth out of their banter immediately.

They simultaneously sat up, looking at Blaxton very intently.

"Sweetheart..." Elizabeth started gently, but Blaxton suddenly jumped off her lap, and slid off the bed running to the window.

"She's right there!"

Jack and Elizabeth barely avoided tripping over their own feet in a hurry to reach the window.

"I don't think I see anything," muttered Jack, straining his eyes.

"Right there!" Blaxton pressed his finger to the glass. "Next to the moon!"

"Next to-" Elizabeth looked up at Jack who leaned down with a sudden smile.

"Do you mean the star, sailor?" he asked, looking between the sky and Blaxton who nodded.

"Uncle Gibbs said that every person that is in heaven has their star on the sky."

Jack lifted Blaxton from the floor. "Grandma in heaven, eh? Teague would never believe it."

Elizabeth chuckled, resting her cheek against Jack's shoulder.


	19. Matters of Perspective

A/N: Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Matters of Perspective**

"I don't want to wear them." Blaxton sat on the edge of a stool, fidgeting and pouting, and eyeing the small objects in Elizabeth's hands warily.

"But these are really nice shoes!" insisted Elizabeth, trying to sound enthusiastic. She was about to say that they were new, but then remembering what had happened to a new hat, she thought better of it. "They will make you run faster," she said convincingly, and was rewarded with a glimpse of interest in Blaxton's eyes. However, after another look at the shoes the glimpse was gone, and the pout was back.

"I don't want to wear any shoes," said Blaxton, dangling his legs and looking down at the floor.

"Everybody's ready to go?" Jack walked into the cabin, and squinted at the scene.

"No." Elizabeth sighed, and glanced over her shoulder with a small, helpless smile.

Jack smiled back, but then quickly cleared his throat, and agilely bent down. "The trouble being?" he asked good-humoredly, giving Blaxton a questioning look.

"I don't want to wear any shoes," repeated Blaxton, shifting his eyes from the floor to Jack's face.

Elizabeth raised the shoes for Jack to see that there was really nothing wrong with them.

Jack looked at the shoes, and then at Blaxton. "But these are not shoes," he said matter-of-factly, and both Blaxton's and Elizabeth's eyes darted to him. "They might look a bit short," he said, taking the shoes from Elizabeth's hands. "But they are _boots_."

Elizabeth bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

"They are?" Blaxton reluctantly took a closer look at the pair.

"'Course they are," Jack handed the boots to Blaxton. "And surely such a fine sailor as yourself, can put them on without Mum's assistance," he added with a cautious smile.

"I can!" Blaxton nodded enthusiastically. "And I can undress all by myself too," he added as an afterthought, slipping his right foot into the shoe. "I can teach you," he offered sincerely, pulling on the other shoe, and jumping off the stool.

Jack and Elizabeth exchanged slightly confused looks.

"So you won't have to undress each other," added Blaxton, snickering at some apparently very amusing memory, while Jack and Elizabeth stared at him in silent dismay, wondering just how many times they might have forgotten to lock the door...


	20. The Price of Prestige

A/N: I'm slowly but surely running out of my drabble savings ;) so I just wanted to let you know that from now on I won't be updating every single day - but twice a week instead :)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**The Price of Prestige**

At first, it was only an occasional yawn that caught their attention, but when the frequency increased, joined by nervous blinking and rubbing of the eyes throughout the day, they decided something was going on and the mystery had to be diplomatically investigated.

"Did you sleep well, sweetheart?" Elizabeth risked a question in the most absent tone she could muster.

Blaxton squeezed his eyes tightly a few times, and nodded firmly, trying to put a piece of fruit into his mouth with one hand, while rubbing his eyes with the other.

"I think even your father at some point of parenthood must have realized that such questions are as useful as wet powder, love," said Jack once Blaxton was out of the galley.

Elizabeth answered Jack's smirk with a half-hearted frown. "I guess we'll have to try your method, then."

* * *

"Shhh!"

"I am quiet," said Elizabeth in an annoyed whisper. "It's you and your hair that will give us away."

"They haven't given me away in Singapore. I doubt they will now." Jack cautiously pushed the door open, lifting the lantern, and bringing it to their face level.

Very carefully, Jack and Elizabeth walked toward the hammock, the newest element of Blaxton's cabin. It had taken Blaxton several weeks to convince them to replace his bed with it.

The hammock, however, was empty.

"Where is he?" Elizabeth whispered, despite Jack gesticulating for her to stay silent.

"Mum?"

Jack and Elizabeth froze, wondering if pretending to be ghosts would make more sense than pretending they were not really there at all.

"Mum!..." The voice changed from confused to embarrassed, and soon they were confronted with Blaxton... crawling from under his hammock.

Elizabeth wrinkled her forehead in bafflement, while Jack bent down on one knee, the lantern swinging lightly between the three of them.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor, sailor?" he asked curiously. "Isn't it a tad bit... hard and... cold?"

Blaxton pouted, and looked at them with such a miserable expression on his face, that Elizabeth immediately pulled him into an embrace. Many minutes had to pass, however, before he finally, very quietly, with a deep sigh of ultimate defeat, admitted that he had kept falling down from the hammock.

"Well, there is nothing to be ashamed of," said Jack decidedly, and Blaxton looked at him hopefully. "Why do you think your Mum and I don't sleep in a hammock?" Blaxton seemed to ponder this for a moment, while Elizabeth arched an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. Jack smiled. "Because Mum fell down from it too."

Blaxton grinned, his eyes brightening.

"I did not!" Elizabeth protested, grabbing one of Blaxton's boots scattered on the floor, and throwing it at Jack.

Jack caught the boot and narrowing his eyes at Blaxton said in a conspirational whisper: "Twice!"

Blaxton laughed.


	21. What a Man Can Do

A/N: Thank you so much for all the fantastic reviews! :)

Disclaimer: Disney owns _PotC_.

**What a Man Can Do**

"He says he won't go," announced Elizabeth, leaning against the cabin's door.

"You know, Lizzie." Jack smiled, rising to his feet from behind his desk. "It's not like there always has to be a reason whenever-"

"He says he won't go because he has to clean his cabin," cut in Elizabeth trying to retain a serious expression on her face.

Jack chuckled. "Oh."

* * *

"You wanted to go there three days ago, two days ago and yesterday too," reasoned Jack, squatting down and looking intently at Blaxton, who was sitting on the floor, folding his shirt for the fourth time already, because each time he tried to fold it, one of the sleeves would not stay folded while he tried to fold the other one...

"I just... don't want to go there today," said Blaxton almost absently, half-rolling one of the sleeves so it would not stick out.

Jack sighed. During their current visit to Shipwreck Cove Blaxton seemed to get a long with several boys with whom he had been playing for a few days in a row, and the sudden change of attitude was obviously suspicious.

"They're older, that's true. But I wager all of Mum's favorite swords that they don't run faster," Jack said seriously after a pause, narrowing his eyes in a cautious smile.

At first not a muscle in Blaxton's face twitched, but then a small pout flickered across his lips. He let go of the shirt he was folding and sat on his knees. Jack tilted his head to the side and waited. "Yesterday," started Blaxton after a longer moment of consideration, "everybody tied their boots to tree branches, and everybody had to jump and pull their boots back down." He paused to draw a breath. "They all did it. And I- and _only_ I couldn't reach mine. They are all taller," Blaxton concluded dejectedly in a low voice, staring at the floor.

"Ah, well. It doesn't matter," Jack waved his hand dismissively, slumping onto the floor next to Blaxton, whose eyes darted to him immediately. "It doesn't matter you didn't reach high enough yesterday," said Jack with an enigmatic smile. "You'll reach high enough tomorrow."

"How come?" Blaxton asked sceptically, but then his eyes widened. "Will I be taller tomorrow?" he asked hopefully, straightening up.

Jack smiled. "It's much simpler," he said convincingly, and Blaxton's face brightened even more. "All you need to do," Jack lowered his voice to a conspirational whisper that caused Blaxton to hold his breath, "is _jump higher."_


	22. The Awards That Follow

A/N: Thank you so much for all the great reviews! :)

Disclaimer: _PotC _belong to Disney.

**The Awards That Follow**

"I'm not sure it was a good idea," muttered Jack, quickening his steps.

"I'm sure Teague knew what he was getting himself into when he offered to take care of Blaxton for a week," said Elizabeth with a smile. "And Blaxton wanted to stay."

"That's because Blaxton didn't know what he was getting himself into either," retorted Jack, wrinkling his forehead.

Elizabeth laughed, lacing her hand through Jack's arm. "I guess we'll soon find out who made whose life more difficult."

* * *

When Jack and Elizabeth entered the Great Hall, they were greeted by the sight of a very cheerful Blaxton running to them, and beginning to recount everything that he had done during the past week.

Jack lifted Blaxton from the floor, while Elizabeth exchanged a few words with Teague, who on their way out reminded Blaxton not to forget the reward that was waiting for him outside.

"What kind of reward?" Jack asked suspiciously when they had said good-bye to Teague and left the room.

"I was doing _all_ the lessons every day and Grandpa promised me a present... I mean, Grandpa promised me a present before I started doing all the lessons every day, that's why I was doing them," Blaxton explained gleefully, clearly impatient to finally see his reward.

"Oh," Elizabeth smiled, exchanging an uncertain look with Jack.

"And guess what grandpa promised me!" Blaxton exclaimed excitedly, asking Jack to put him down, so he could run himself to where his reward was supposed to be waiting for him. "He promised me-" Blaxton stopped dead in his tracks, looking at what suddenly appeared in front of him in confusion. "He promised me a ship," he finished in a low voice, wrinkling his forehead.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. Jack rolled his eyes, and knelt on one knee next to Blaxton, putting his arm around his shoulders. "One thing to remember about _Grandpa_, sailor. For future reference. His sense of humor is more wrinkled than his face."

"Jack!" Elizabeth whispered sharply, stifling a chuckle, and squatting down on the other side of Blaxton. "Well, maybe you misunderstood Grandpa..." she cautiously pointed out, glancing at a small, white sheep that stood in front of them.

"He asked what I wanted, and I said that I wanted a _ship_," Blaxton said with a pout.

"He must have heard you wrong, sweetheart," Elizabeth offered Elizabeth, poking Jack behind Blaxton's back when he rolled his eyes again.

Blaxton sighed. "I didn't say sheep. I said ship," he insisted, looking at the sheep dejectedly.

Jack patted him lightly on the shoulder. "Next time just negotiate the rewards first. In detail. Otherwise, you'll end up like this, with a sheep, or... eaten by a squid, or-"

"Or sleeping on the floor," cut in Elizabeth, rising to her feet with a huff.

"Mum doesn't like squid stories," said Jack in a conspirational whisper in response to Blaxton's questioning look. "That's another good thing to remember," he added with a wink. "As for the sheep, we may begin by naming it Grandpa Teague. What do you think?"

Blaxton laughed.


	23. Yet People Are Always Surprised

A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Yet People Are Always Surprised**

„Dad?" Blaxton adjusted his hands on the spokes, making sure that both of his feet were safely placed on the wooden box, so he would not fall down like a moment ago. Jack stood next to him, studying a map. „How old are you?"

* * *

„_...older than Mum, younger than Grandpa Teague,_" Blaxton recited in a conspirational whisper.

Elizabeth slumped down onto the bed. „This is hopeless," she muttered, propping her head on her palms.

Blaxton sat down next to her, mirroring her gestures.

* * *

_(On the Next Day...)_

„Dad? How old is Grandpa Teague?"

Jack blinked, and slowly looked up.

* * *

Blaxton ran into the cabin, and Elizabeth smiled at him expectantly, but he only shook his head in resignation. „Grandpa Teague is _very _old," he quoted, shrugging his shoulders.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

* * *

_(Two Days Later...)_

„Dad? How old was Uncle Gibbs when you met him?"

Jack narrowed his eyes, stifling a chuckle. „You may tell Mum that I'll be perfectly happy with any number of candles on my birthday cake, thank you very much," he said smilingly.

Blaxton shook his head. „It's not about the candles," he said seriously. Jack raised his eyebrows. „Mum said that she wanted to get you for your birthday as many rum bottles as old you are."

* * *

„Mum! It worked! It worked!" Blaxton ran into the cabin, smiling excitedly.

Elizabeth grinned, but her smile faded as soon as Blaxton announced: „Dad is 100 years old!"


	24. Joy of Accomplishment

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Joy of Accomplishment**

It was almost dawn when a strange, rustling sound woke Jack up.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked sleepily, sliding her hand over his shoulder.

"I'll better check," murmured Jack, grabbing his pistol from under the bed.

Avoiding the cracking floorboards, he noiselessly crept to the door, and after a moment of deliberating whether he should push the door open abruptly, or rather open it carefully, he chose the latter option.

Elizabeth lifted herself on her elbows, and watched him through half-lidded eyes, making sure she had her pistol within reach.

Slowly, Jack stepped into the main cabin and almost tripped over a strange shape outstretched on the floor parallel to the door.

The shape shifted slightly and muttered "Mum" in his sleep.

Elizabeth's eyes widened at the word, and she was on her feet in an instant. She squatted down next to Jack and they both looked at Blaxton in puzzlement.

Cautiously, Jack wanted to pick him up from the floor, but then the child's eyes fluttered open.

"Mum, Dad, I wanted to ask you..." he said drowsily, rubbing his eyes.

"Why were you sleeping on the floor here, sweetheart?" Elizabeth asked incredulously, gathering Blaxton in her arms, and kissing the top of his head.

"I wanted to ask..." Blaxton craned his neck to look around, and then grabbed the book that lay on the floor nearby.

"Why didn't you knock on the door, sailor?" Jack asked, sitting down on the floor next to Elizabeth.

"I did," Blaxton protested, searching through the book. "I knocked and knocked-" he wrinkled his forehead looking at a picture in the book for a moment before moving onto the next page," and knocked and knocked, but nobody answered," he shrugged, stifling a yawn.

Elizabeth leaned her forehead against Jack's cheek and laughed under her breath. "And you said my etiquette lessons weren't going to be successful," she whispered cheerfully, looking up at him. Jack smiled and brushed his lips over her eyelids.

"Oh yes," Blaxton nodded to himself, finally finding the right page. "I want to read _this _story before sleeping!"

"Very well. But now it's breakfast time," Elizabeth said with a smile, running her hand through Blaxton's hair.

"Breakfast?!" Blaxton straightened up, his eyes widening in a baffled smile. "In the evening?! Mum!" he laughed.

"It's not evening, sailor. It's morning," Jack said with a wink, taking the book from his hands. "Next time if nobody answers your knocking, just try to come in, and if the door-"

"I actually _tried_ to come in..." admitted Blaxton snuggling against Elizabeth's chest. "But the door was locked..." he reached out over his head and began twirling loose strands of Elizabeth's hair around his hands, "so I started to knock."

Jack snickered.

"Don't say anything," Elizabeth whispered, covering his mouth with her hand, while Blaxton jumped to his feet and ran to the window to check if it really was morning already.


	25. A Playdate

A/N: Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews! :]

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**A Playdate**

"'_Slightly_ mischievous' indeed!" Gibbs' niece exclaimed ironically as soon as she opened the door and saw Jack and Elizabeth at her doorstep.

The smiles on the parents' faces faded, for it was definitely not how they had pictured picking Blaxton up after the short vacation they had arranged for him, taking up on Gibbs' offer, thinking that Blaxton could only benefit from spending a couple of days in a beautiful little village with his peers, two boys and two girls all about his age.

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by an agitated monologue. He could feel Elizabeth stiffen beside him when the woman flooded them with all the possible variations of the word _demon_ she could come up with. At some point Elizabeth could not stand it any longer, and coldly demanded Blaxton to be brought to them _immediately_.

"With pleasure!" the woman hissed, and after much shouting five children entered the room. One of the boys was propping his broken finger with his other hand, the other boy gloomily looked around from under the bandage that was covering his broken nose, two girls with various bruises marched across the room glaring at each other, and finally Blaxton walked in, looking absolutely fine, except for a very sad expression on his face.

Jack blinked, not too surprised by the possibility of a fight between little boys, but fairly perplexed by the girls' injuries. Elizabeth bit her lip, quite startled herself, but still less startled by the scene than irritated by the woman's outrageous remarks concerning their slightly mischievous son.

* * *

"Are we going to hear your version of events, sailor?" Jack asked encouragingly, when after a hot bath Blaxton was at last cozily tucked up in bed by Elizabeth, who was sitting next to him and drying his hair with a towel.

Blaxton pursed his lips but did not say anything. In fact, he had not spoken a single word since their return to the _Black Pearl_.

"There." Elizabeth threw the towel over a chair, and began combing Blaxton's hair.

After watching the movements of her hands for a while, Blaxton quickly snuggled himself into her arms. Elizabeth immediately wrapped her arms around him and squeezed, looking up at Jack.

"So what's the story?" prompted Jack leaning forward, and narrowing his eyes interestedly.

Blaxton sighed, and for a moment just busied himself with twirling locks of Elizabeth's hair around his fingers. "I didn't started it," he said at last.

"Of course you didn't start it," agreed Jack matter-of-factly.

Elizabeth kissed the top of Blaxton's head. "So who started, sweetheart?"

"Timothy," Blaxton answered after a pause, and then straightened up, and looked between Jack and Elizabeth. "Timothy hit Matthew, and I told him not to do that, and then he pushed me, and I told him not to do that either, but he pushed me again, so I pushed him, and then he pushed me-" he explained quickly.

"Alright," Jack cleared his throat. "We've got that part. What about the girls?"

"When Timothy pushed me I fell and got this," Blaxton said pointing to a bruise below his elbow, "so when we got home Jane gave me a ribbon to wrap it around the bruise to hide it, but then Lucy came with her ribbon, so I told her I already had the ribbon from Jane, and then Lucy pushed Jane, and Jane pushed Lucy-"

"I see," Jack acknowledged with as much seriousness in his voice as he could muster.

"You won't go there ever again, that's for sure," muttered Elizabeth hugging Blaxton close, and then sliding off the bed to go fetch something to drink.

When she left the cabin, Blaxton rolled off the bed, and ran to where Elizabeth had put his clothes. He searched his pockets, and after pulling something out of one of them, jumped back onto the bed, and extended his closed hand toward Jack.

"They... fell out when Timothy hit me," he said opening his fist above Jack's palm, and dropping three teeth into his hand. "And you know what, Dad? I swallowed some _blood_," he said with mixture of pride and disgust in his voice, twitching his nose at the memory.

Jack blinked, and for a moment just looked at the small, white objects in his hand.

"Why didn't you tell their parents about it?" Jack asked, leaning forward, and examining the empty spaces when Blaxton opened his mouth to show him where the teeth had been.

"I'm not a telltale," protested Blaxton, thrusting up his chin.

"'Course you're not," said Jack ruffling his hair with a lop-sided smile. Blaxton laughed. "Well, then. Not much to be helped about the boys, but as for the girls, next time just take that second ribbon, and even a third one if necessary. And don't tell anybody how many you already have. As for these," he held up the teeth, "you should have new ones grow in their place very soon," he assured him with a smile.

"And they will be gold, right?" Blaxton exclaimed happily.

Jack squinted. "I'm afraid they're going to be quite similar to these," he said cautiously.

"I thought I'd have gold teeth now," Blaxton pouted, wrinkling his forehead in resignation.

The door opened, and Elizabeth walked in, carrying a tray with steaming cups. She put the tray on the table, and sat on the bed with a smile that disappeared the moment she noticed the teeth in Jack's hand.

But before she had a chance to ask about anything, Jack continued. "I tell you what we'll do. We'll paint _these_ gold and tie them into our hair. How is that?" he proposed smilingly. "One for Mum, one for me, and one for you."

Blaxton grinned.


	26. For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!

A/N: Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!**

"What are we doin' here!?" Pintel frowned, poking Ragetti with an oar.

"We're pretendin' that we're not aboard," answered Ragetti, rubbing his arm.

From the other side of the longboat Marty waved his hand at him to hush him.

"But we're not aboard," Pintel hissed, annoyed that he was woken up a mere hour after he had finished his night watch. Ragetti blinked. "Why do we have to pretend that we're not aboard if we're not aboard?!" muttered Pintel through his clenched teeth.

"Walk the plank!" Cotton's parrot cut in, landing on Pintel's shoulder. Pintel slowly turned his head, glaring at the bird.

Elizabeth, who was sitting next to Jack in the second longboat, rested her forehead against his cheek with a sigh.

"I thought at least _you_ liked the idea, love," Jack said in a low voice, pouting slightly.

"Yes," Elizabeth looked up, propping her chin on his shoulder. "I liked the idea when I thought you were planning his sixteenth Birthday. Not his sixth one. Next year I'll be the one coming up with Birthday present ideas," she added, squinting.

"Shhh!" In the other longboat Marty tried to silence Pintel and Ragetti again.

Jack reached out for a hat of one of his crew members sitting in the same boat, and threw it at Pintel whose glare turned into an apologetic smile as soon as he saw who had thrown the hat.

* * *

When Blaxton woke up, everybody was already gone. He grinned excitedly, quickly washed his face, get dressed, and decided not to eat his breakfast in order to waste as little time as possible.

After all, being left in charge of the entire ship on his own for the entire day while his parents and the crew had something important to do in town was a very serious task!


	27. Shades of Veracity

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :]

Disclaimer: _PotC_ belong to Disney.

**Shades of Veracity**

"No, no, you've said enough!" Elizabeth shouted running across the gangplank.

"Lizzie. Don't you think it's-" Jack trailed off with a sigh of exasperation, rolling his eyes at Elizabeth's retreating figure.

Blaxton, who had been impatiently waiting for his parents' return, stopped in mid-step, wrinkling his nose at the scene.

* * *

"Mum?"

"I'm here," Elizabeth smiled, extending her hand to Blaxton who ran into the room, and jumped onto the bed next to her. "How was your afternoon?"

"Good!" Blaxton smiled, and quickly recounted what he was doing while his parents were ashore. Then, after some fidgeting and drawing a deep breath, he added in a different tone. "Mum?... Dad said he didn't mean it..."

"He did?" Elizabeth asked doubtfully after a pause.

Blaxton nodded, biting his lip, and glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

Elizabeth sighed. "Well, if he want to apologize-"

Blaxton slid off the bed, and ran out of the room, grinning.

* * *

"Dad?"

"Come in!" Jack looked up from his desk, and smiled at Blaxton who ran inside. "Shouldn't you be asleep, son?"

"You said we'll be having a night watch tonight!" Blaxton said, leaning over the table.

"Ah yes," Jack smiled. "You're right. How was your day?" he asked moving a pile of books aside.

Blaxton repeated his summary, but this time without omitting his fall from the rigging.

"What Mum says about climbing the rigging?" Jack asked matter-of-factly, tapping his fingers on the table.

"That she doesn't want to hear a word about it," Blaxton recalled Elizabeth's exact words. "That's why I didn't tell her," he added with a complacent smile.

Jack narrowed his eyes, stifling a chuckle.

After a few more moments of conversation, Blaxton pursed his lips. "Dad?... Mum said she didn't mean it..." he said carefully, dropping his gaze to the map on Jack's desk.

Jack wrinkled his forehead. "Did she now?" he asked with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

Blaxton glanced at him, but then looked down at the map again, all the while nodding convincingly.

* * *

The door opened, and Elizabeth rose to her feet, crossing her arms over her chest. Jack stopped in front of her, and looked at her expectantly. Elizabeth arched an eyebrow.

"As expressive as your gaze is, Captain Sparrow, I'd rather have you take back what you said _out loud_," said Elizabeth, squinting.

Jack blinked. "Take back? I thought it was you who-" He stopped in mid-sentence and snorted under his breath.

Elizabeth looked at him in confusion, but then understanding dawned on her as well.

"Come in here, sailor," said Jack in a semi-threatening voice, glancing at the door over his shoulder. "We do mean it!" he added, and smiled along with Elizabeth at the sound of muffled laughter coming from the other side of the door.


	28. A Midsummer Excursion

A/N: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**A Midsummer Excursion**

"We should've gone to see _Julius Caesar_," Elizabeth muttered with a sigh after the play had begun. She straightened up with a grimace, annoyed by the sensation caused by the corset she was wearing.

Jack reached out over Blaxton who was sitting between them, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It would've been too grim," he whispered with a wink.

"But less inappropriate," Elizabeth answered in a low voice, glancing at Blaxton who propped his elbows on his knees, and very intently looked at the stage, listening to the play with great interest.

Jack chuckled, receiving a warning look from Elizabeth, because the sudden movement of his head caused the trinkets hidden under his wig to clink. "If you say so, love."

Elizabeth was about to answer, but then turned her attention to Blaxton who began fidgeting while whispering "turn around, turn around."

"What's going on?" she asked under her breath, leaning down with a smile.

"He's following them and they don't know it," Blaxton answered with a grimace, not averting his eyes from the stage.

"But he's also being followed, so all is fair," cut in Jack in a whisper.

"But she follows him because she likes him, and he follows them because he doesn't like them," Blaxton answered expertly, pointing to the corresponding actors.

"Oh," Elizabeth blinked, a bit stunned by Blaxton following the story so effortlessly.

"Well, isn't he following them because he likes that other girl a bit?" Jack asked quietly with an amused smile.

"But she doesn't like him back, so it doesn't count," Blaxton replied with a frown, keeping his voice as low as possible, so he could still hear the words coming from the stage.

Elizabeth bit her lip stifling a chuckle, and kissed Blaxton on the head, exchanging amused glances with Jack.

Jack cleared his throat. "That's a valid point. But what if she only thinks that she doesn't like him back?"

"Jack!..." Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him. "You'll confuse him."

Jack smirked.

"But she _really_ doesn't like him," Blaxton answered with conviction.

"How do you know, sweetheart?" Elizabeth asked, intrigued by the decisiveness in Blaxton's voice.

"She didn't want to marry him," Blaxton whispered, wrinkling his forehead in concentration.

"Well-" started Jack, but Elizabeth cut him off.

"Maybe she thought his proposal was not well thought out," she said, squinting.

"Oi. Now _you_ are confusing him, Lizzie," cut in Jack, smirking.

"Mum, Dad," Blaxton averted his eyes from the stage for the first time, and looked between Jack and Elizabeth. "Can I sit over there?" he asked, pointing to an empty spot in another row. "I can't really hear what they're saying," he added with a small pout.

"No, no. Stay here. We'll be quiet."

Blaxton shifted his eyes back to the stage.

A few minutes later, Jack glanced at Elizabeth. "Everything I do is well thought out," he whispered with a twitch of his nose.

Elizabeth snorted. "Oh yes. We're sitting next to the living proof of that."

"Mum..." Blaxton started pleadingly, and they fell silent again, promising him not to talk until the play was over.


	29. Paprika Tag

A/N: I just realized I'd forgotten to mention that all of these drabbles were/are being written for weekly prompts at blackpearlsails, a wonderful _PotC_ fan fiction community at LiveJournal. The drabble below was written for _East India Trading Company_ prompt :)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**Paprika Tag**

"Mum, Dad, what does this sign mean?"

After rummaging through an old trunk during the general cleaning up of the captain's quarters, Blaxton picked up a small object and lifted it for his parents to see.

"This is... paprika," Jack said after a moment of consideration.

Blaxton looked at the can critically. "But what does the sign mean?" he insisted.

Jack squinted. "It shows you in which three directions you can run when you see it."

Elizabeth snorted.

"It means _run_?" Blaxton asked curiously.

"No." Elizabeth smiled, taking the can from his hand, and throwing it onto the pile of things meant to be thrown away. "It means fight."

Blaxton wrinkled his nose. "It means _run to fight_?" he asked, trying to make sense of the multiple explanations. "Or _fight to run_?"

"Run to fight so you can run again," said Jack with a wink.

Blaxton frowned in slight confusion, but then smiled. "It's like a tag game!"

"Exactly!" agreed Jack, staggering to his feet. "The only difference is," he reached for the can and opened it, "that instead of touching the other person," he took an ostentatiously clandestine step toward Elizabeth, "you sprinkle them with paprika!"

Elizabeth jumped to her feet with a playful shriek. Blaxton laughed.


	30. More Like Guidelines

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: Disney owns _PotC_.

**More Like Guidelines**

„You're not going anywhere alone!"

„Lizzie." Jack kissed her hand and pulled her into an embrace. She averted her eyes from him with a frown. „As unimaginable as it certainly is, I actually had done a bit of pirating before we met," he said with a smirk.

Elizabeth looked at him sternly. „I won't be staying at the Cove while you'll be putting yourself in harm's way. Why are you leaving me behind?!"

„I'm not leaving you behind! But this time..." he cleared his throat. „Unless you want to leave Blaxton under Teague's care, which I personally wouldn't recommend," he said with a twitch of his nose and Elizabeth bit back an involuntary smile. „I think we shouldn't go on that particular venture together."

She widened her eyes at him. „So you do confirm it's dangerous!" she exclaimed, snatching herself out of his embrace and crossing her arms over her chest. „I knew it."

Jack rolled his eyes. „I let you sail on your own three months ago, didn't I? For three weeks," he added, squinting, and turning toward the door right when a small crack in it cautiously disappeared.

„You _let_ me?!"

* * *

"Finally," muttered Elizabeth peering from behind wooden boxes in the _Black Pearl_'s rum cellar. It was becoming hard to breathe under the heavy blanket, so she welcomed the opportunity to at last come out of her hiding place when she felt the ship leave port.

She straightened up, but then the sound of a key in the lock caused her to jump back under the cover, unfortunately losing her balance in the process which caused her to fall down, and hit something with her head. Said something uttered a surprised "oi" and Elizabeth did not even have to turn around to recognize the voice.

But the door opened, and both she and Blaxton grew quiet, holding their breaths as a familiar pattern of footsteps preceded the sound of a bottle of rum being uncorked.

When the door closed, Elizabeth threw the blanket away, and was about to sternly demand an explanation but the sheepish look on Blaxton's face made her ask the question in a softer voice than she had intended.

"Don't worry, Mum. Dad won't find out we're here," Blaxton said reassuringly, not exactly answering Elizabeth's question concerning his sneaking on board when he was supposed to stay at the Cove with Grandpa Teague. "It's a good hiding place." Elizabeth sighed, wondering what to do. "We were hiding here with Dad last time when you-" Blaxton broke off, suddenly realizing that perhaps he should not be saying that.

Elizabeth darted her eyes to him, and for a moment just stared at him, but then laughed under her breath. So much for letting each other sail all by themselves!


	31. Crosstraining

A/N: A sequel to _Captain Dolittle_ ;)

Disclaimer: _PotC_ belong to Disney.

**Cross-training**

"Look!" With a very serious expression on his face Blaxton held up a small piece of wood. "I will throw it there," he gestured to his left, "and you will bring it back."

The cat blinked and yawned.

Blaxton threw the stick fairly close, yet the cat made no effort to even look into that direction.

"It's right there!" Blaxton pointed toward the stick but the cat only sat down on the deck in response.

Blaxton sighed. "I will show you," he said, and ran to get the stick. Then he returned, and explaining to the cat everything he was doing, threw the stick further away, and brought it back himself. "Now you'll just have to do the same," he said encouragingly, throwing the stick once again.

The cat pulled itself upwards, stretching lazily in the sun. Blaxton held his breath in happy anticipation, watching the cat walk into the direction of the stick... and then walk past the stick and down the stairs.

Elizabeth, who together with Jack was watching everything from the helm, buried her face into his shoulder. "I told you we should've got him a dog," she said with a chuckle.


	32. Christmas Drabble I

A/N: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! :]

& I just wanted to let you know that I won't be able to post anything over the holidays, so there will be just one more drabble after this one & then we'll take a little break until January :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Christmas Drabble I**

"But Dad?" Blaxton reached out and cautiously touched green branches of the tree that Jack was carrying. "How do we decorate it?"

"With seaweed and oysters," replied Jack seriously, glancing at him with a hardly discernible smirk.

"Dad!" Blaxton laughed, but kept looking at Jack intently, not absolutely sure if he really was joking.

"Although we'd also need something that could make it look a bit more shiny, don't you think?" asked Jack matter-of-factly.

"I don't think they decorate Christmas trees with seaweed in England," said Blaxton with a small pout, shifting his gaze to his boots, beginning to treat Jack's decorating ideas seriously. Jack stopped in his tracks, giving his son a questioning look. "I just thought we could make a special tree that looked _almost _the same like the one Mum said she was decorating when she was little," explained Blaxton with a shrug.

Jack bent down, and looked at him intently, biting back a smile. "How about we took a little side trip to Jamaica before picking Mum up from Shipwreck Cove? I'm sure we could find some proper trinkets there, aye?"

"Aye!" exclaimed Blaxton happily. "I'll go tell Mr. Cotton to change the course!" he said excitedly, turning around.

"Oi! Oi!" Jack called after him, and Blaxton swirled around. "Isn't it a bit too early for ye to be taking over captain's duties and ordering the crew?"

Blaxton wrinkled his nose in thought, and then straightened up, and smiled at Jack brightly. "No, I can do it!" he said with a reassuring nod, turned around and ran up the stairs, leaving Jack with a half-proud, half-startled look on his face.


	33. Christmas Drabble II

A/N: I wish you all an amazing, magical, beautiful Christmas!!!!!!! :]

See you in January 2010 :)

Disclaimer: _PotC _belong to Disney.

**Christmas Drabble II**

Jack woke up in the middle of the night to a strange, persistent yet fairly quiet sound coming from the main deck. He listened to it for some time before rolling onto his back-

"Lizzie?" he asked, surprised by the sight of her sitting upright in bed and straining her ears.

"Shh!" Elizabeth covered his mouth with her hand. "Do you hear it too?" she asked in a whisper.

"Aye." Jack said against her palm, his voice muffled.

Elizabeth gave him an amused smile which turned into a frown as soon as the sound returned. "What can it be?" she asked quietly, looking at Jack in puzzlement.

Jack took her hand in his and kissed it. "I shall go check," he said with a wink sliding off the bed, but Elizabeth caught his hand.

"I shall go with you," she said with a smile.

* * *

"Walk the plank!" the parrot announced when Jack and Elizabeth asked Mr. Cotton if he had noticed anything suspicious.

Jack narrowed his eyes at the parrot.

"We'll just take a walk around, then," Elizabeth said, pulling Jack away from the helm and telling him to keep the lantern a little higher.

"I really-" Jack started but stopped in mid-sentence almost tripping over something, Elizabeth's arm laced through his steadying him.

"Sweetheart?" she prompted and Jack shifted his eyes to her smirking at the endearment but then he noticed that she was not looking at him.

"Mum! Dad!" Blaxton's voice seemed a bit strained. "Could you help me?"

Jack moved the lantern closer to where Blaxton's voice was coming from. "What are you doing, sailor?" he asked uncertainly as he and Elizabeth looked in bafflement at what looked like a piece of something very heavy that Blaxton was trying to move, pushing it as hard as he could, each push making the strange object move half an inch forward.

"We need to... put it... on _top_," Blaxton said, breathing heavily.

"On top of what?" Jack asked, squatting down to take a closer look at the dark object, the faint light making it difficult to identify what it was.

Blaxton pondered the question for a moment. "On... top," he said at last, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his shirt sleeve.

"Somewhere high?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes!" Blaxton nodded enthusiastically.

"But why?" Jack asked, wiggling his fingers in the air before deciding to touch the mysterious object. It was cold, hard, and when he knocked on it-

"It's a chimney," Elizabeth said, perplexed, exchanging confused looks with Jack when their eyes adjusted to the faint light enough to finally recognize the object.

"I don't think we need a chimney," Jack said carefully.

"We do!" Blaxton protested going back to his difficult task.

"But why?" Jack and Elizabeth asked in unison after a pause during which they had tried to come up with an explanation on their own... but to no avail.

Blaxton straightened up. "Because Santa Claus comes through a chimney. If we don't have a chimney he won't come," he said with a pout.

Elizabeth stifled a chuckle. "Who told you that, sweetheart?" she asked with a smile.

"And where did you get that chimney?" Jack asked, blinking.


	34. Home Decor

A/N: Happy New Year!!!!!!! :)

Disclaimer: Disney owns _PotC_.

**Home Decor**

„Cast off!" Elizabeth shouted running across the gangplank, Blaxton's hand clasped in hers.

The crew exchanged confused looks but when she repeated the order they just shrugged and got back to work, muttering under their breaths.

Jack emerged from below the deck with a smile on his face, ready to step on land, only to discover that they were already sailing away. He wrinkled his forehead, and swaggered toward the helm where Elizabeth was.

„I understand that you've already been to town, love, but I was actually hoping-"

She took his chin in her hand and turned his head so he could look toward the shore and see a growing number of red coats gathering there.

„Oh."

„It's my fault."

The quiet voice made Jack look over Elizabeth's shoulder and notice Blaxton who was sitting on the steps, holding his head in his hands.

Stifling a smile, Elizabeth leaned toward Jack. „Don't laugh," she whispered into his ear. Jack smirked, kissed her on the cheek, and walked off to sit next to Blaxton on the steps.

„What happened?" he asked as matter-of-factly as possible.

Blaxton pouted. „We went with Mum to the market, and there was a boy and we started talking and..." He trailed off with a sigh. „I didn't tell him that we were pirates!" he said firmly after a pause.

„The boy ran to his parents and they made the entire town aware of the _Black Pearl_," interjected Elizabeth, giving Jack an amused smile that Blaxton could not see.

„But I didn't tell him anything about the _Black Pearl_!" Blaxton insisted pouting even more.

„So what did you tell him, sailor?" Jack asked with a small smile.

Blaxton considered this for a moment. „I just asked him what color of sails his home has," he said at last with a shrug, making it suddenly very difficult for Jack to keep a straight face.


	35. Theory of Fearsomeness

A/N: Thank you so much for all the fantastic reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Theory of Fearsomeness**

"Dad?" Blaxton fidgeted in his chair that Jack had made for him, so he would be at the same level as the captain's desk. "How many enemies do you have?" Blaxton asked, his eyebrows knitted in concentration, as he started to draw the outline of Africa on the blank sheet of paper, his eyes subconsciously drifting to the book that Jack had just closed.

"Let's see..." Jack wrinkled his forehead. "Including those who wanted to marry Mum?..." he muttered, putting his finger to his chin as if in deep thought. Blaxton looked at him expectantly. "That leaves us with... none," Jack concluded with a smile.

"None?" Blaxton almost dropped his quill, a clear hint of disappointment in his voice. Jack looked at him questioningly, suppressing a smile. "Nathaniel's dad has sixty seven enemies," Blaxton explained with a sigh. "I told him that I'd ask you how many you have."

"Well," Jack cleared his throat, and leaned toward Blaxton, "you can tell him that I have none _because_," he lowered his voice to a conspirational whisper, "they are all dead," he said with a wink.


	36. Broken

A/N: I just wanted to let you know that from now on I'll be updating less frequently... but hopefully still pretty frequently ;)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**Broken**

„It doesn't work," said Blaxton with a pout, placing his newly received compass on the desk in front of his parents who were busy plotting their next course.

„It doesn't?" Elizabeth wrinkled her forehead, and took the compass in her hand to examine it. „It worked yesterday when we got it for you."

Jack looked over her shoulder, and they both watched the red needle spin and then stop.

„It works fine, sailor," Jack said with a smile, and Elizabeth smiled too, returning the compass to Blaxton, who looked at it sceptically before opening it.

„No, it doesn't," he insisted, shaking his head in disappointment, and giving the compass back to them. Jack and Elizabeth looked between him and the compass in puzzlement. „It points _North_!" explained Blaxton in an unhappy voice.

„Oh," acknowledged Jack and Elizabeth in unison, finally understanding what the problem was.

„Could you fix it?" asked Blaxton, looking at them hopefully.

„Well..." started Jack, after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

„Thank you!" Blaxton said happily, and ran out of the cabin, leaving Jack and Elizabeth with very troubled looks on their faces.


	37. Small Talk

A/N: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: Disney owns Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Small Talk**

„Dad said that you don't sail on your ship anymore, Grandpa, because it's haunted and you're afraid of ghosts," Blaxton said in one breath, breaking into the conversation about the upcoming storm.

Jack froze, his eyes widening as he kept his gaze fixed on his plate. Elizabeth coughed, slowly putting down the mug she was holding in her hands.

Teague tilted his head to the side watching Blaxton whose eyebrows knitted in concentration as he tried to cut a piece of meat with his knife while holding it with his fork, unaware of the wordless commotion his words had caused.

„What else did Dad say about it?" Teague asked in a low voice and Elizabeth was certain she saw a ghost of a smile flicker across his face.

Jack, as surreptitiously as desperately tried to make eye contact with Blaxton, but unfortunately Blaxton shifted his gaze from his plate straight to Teague. „That you shouldn't be afraid of ghosts because it's the ghosts that should be afraid of you," he said laughing under his breath towards the end of the sentence, apparently finding the statement funny.

Jack closed his eyes. Elizabeth stifled a chuckle, reassuringly patting Jack's hand under the table.

„Because you're the best pirate in the world," Blaxton concluded unexpectedly.

Elizabeth glanced at Teague noticing that the shadow of a smile was gone from his face and replaced by something she could not quite interpret; a trace of astonishment, sadness, joy-

„According to Grandma," added Blaxton after a pause.

Elizabeth joined Jack and closed her eyes as well.


	38. A Remake

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :]

Disclaimer: _PotC_ belong to Disney.

**A Remake**

It was already late at night when Jack and Elizabeth returned aboard the _Black Pearl_, making their way below the deck, whispering, kissing, laughing, and hushing each other.

Jack opened the door to captain's quarters, and started lighting the oil lamps, only a moment later realizing that Elizabeth became surprisingly quiet, all of a sudden. He turned around giving her a questioning look but then he followed her gaze...

„Had you cleaned our cabin before we left, love?" he asked cautiously, looking around an almost empty cabin. All the books, maps, charts, clothes, trunks, swords, cutlasses, quills, trinkets, rum (_rum!_) bottles, Elizabeth's jewelery boxes, Jack's navigational instruments; everything, _everything_, save for the large pieces of furniture – was gone.

Elizabeth shifted her eyes to him and he smiled, turning to the door and opening it.

„Well, then I think we should-"

He trailed off when a piece of paper that had apparently been glued to the door fell to the floor. Bending down, Jack picked it up. Elizabeth looked over his shoulder and read the one word that was written on the piece of paper in calligraphic, capital letters: NASSAU.

* * *

„What is it?" Elizabeth asked in an impatient whisper after Jack's third try to open Blaxton's cabin door wide enough for them to enter.

Jack grumbled under his breath, trying once again, and finally pushing the door so hard that when it opened, he fell against it with full force.

„Oi," he winced, rubbing his forehead, and glaring at the trunk behind the door.

„Shhh!" Elizabeth put her hand over his mouth, taking a look around the cabin stuffed with all their belongings neatly placed on the floor, on the table, and all over the cabinets.

„Mum? Dad?" Blaxton asked in a drowsy voice, sitting up in his bed.

„You woke him up!... I told you we should wait until morning," Elizabeth whispered to Jack, before turning to Blaxton.

„We just came back, sweetheart, and..." Elizabeth sat down on the edge of the bed, drawing Blaxton into her arms.

Jack squatted down in front of them. "What happened here, sailor?"

Blaxton rubbed his eyes, and then dropped his hands, looking between his parents sleepily. "I just-" he stifled a yawn, "sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot," he explained, nestling his head into Elizabeth's shoulder and almost instantly falling asleep again.

Elizabeth kissed the top of his head narrowing her eyes at Jack in mock annoyance.

"At least he didn't vanish from under the eyes of the entire crew," Jack whispered with a smirk.

Elizabeth snorted. "Yet!"


	39. Reconciliatory Skills

A/N: Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Reconciliatory Skills**

"But... Mum! It will be really small!" Blaxton said convincingly, rolling up his sleeve, and then rolling up Jack's sleeve.

Jack, who was sitting next to him looked up at Elizabeth, risking a small smile which faded at the scolding look on her face.

"Mum, look." Blaxton placed his arm next to Jack's, and then very carefully took the measure of the sparrow tattoo on Jack's forearm with his fingers to mirror the location of the tattoo on his own skin. "It's going to be right... here," he pointed to his forearm, glancing at Jack's hand once again to make sure that he had gotten the distance right.

Elizabeth bit her lip, determined not to give Jack the satisfaction of noticing that she found the request adorable. "Sweetheart..." she sat down next to Blaxton and smiled at him. "I just think... and I'm sure Dad agrees with me," she said, giving Jack a meaningful look," that it's a bit too early for that."

Blaxton's face fell. "Too early?" he asked sadly.

"You're too young. Your skin is too thin," Elizabeth took his hand in hers. "Dad's skin is... thicker, rougher, older and dirtier," she said in one breath, trying to keep a serious expression on her face when out of the corner of her eye she saw Jack's smile quickly turning into a pout as he went on examining his forearm.

"But I have an idea," Elizabeth said, a glimpse of hopefulness flashing in Blaxton's eyes. "We could make a special tattoo, a painted one."

"A painted tattoo?" Blaxton seemed skeptical but intrigued.

"It's tanned," Jack observed in a low voice, still looking at his forearm.

Elizabeth and Blaxton looked at him questioningly.

"It's not old and dirty. It's _tanned,_" Jack explained, twitching his nose.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "So," she drew Blaxton's attention back to her. "What do you think?" she asked, ruffling his hair with her hand.

"But if it will be painted..." Blaxton pursed his lips. "It will come off."

"What about two painted tattoos?" Jack broke in, squinting.

"Two?" Blaxton's mood immediately improved.

"Aye," Jack smiled. "A sparrow here," he pointed to one of Blaxton's forearms, "and a swan here," he pointed to the other one, glancing at Elizabeth who smiled at him.

"I'll go fetch a piece of paper so Dad can draw how they'll look like," Elizabeth said, rising to her feet.

When Elizabeth went out of the cabin, Jack leaned toward Blaxton and said in a conspirational whisper: "And they won't come off for as long as you won't wash your skin there."


	40. Not Enough To Redeem

A/N: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**Not Enough To Redeem**

"Jack, you have to find out what is going on," Elizabeth insisted, crossing her arms over her chest.

With a sigh, Jack at last put the quill down and rose to his feet. "Lizzie, I really don't think that a series of such small, and, in fact, admirable acts should-"

Before Jack could finish his sentence, the cabin door was pushed open and Blaxton ran inside to report that he had just cleared the table, helped swabbing the deck, polished the spokes, painted the rail, dusted the rum bottles-

"All of them?" Jack interrupted cautiously, and Blaxton nodded causing his eyes to widen.

"But I didn't break any," Blaxton said quickly.

"What a shame," Elizabeth muttered, glancing at Jack who narrowed his eyes at her.

"Mum, Dad, do all the rum bottles count together or does each rum bottle count separately?" Blaxton asked with a twitch of his nose, drawing his parents' attention back to him.

Jack and Elizabeth exchanged confused looks.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" Elizabeth asked.

"Do they count as one good deed or" Blaxton took a deep breath, "one hundred and seventy eight good deeds?"

"Good deeds?" Jack echoed uncertainly.

Blaxton produced a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. Elizabeth sat on the floor and pulled Blaxton onto her lap to take a look at the piece of paper.

"What are all these, sailor?" Jack asked, peering over Elizabeth's shoulder at the diligently numbered rows of clumsy writing.

"My good deeds," Blaxton explained. "Father Randolph said that everyone should make a list of their good and bad deeds."

"I knew it," Jack said under his breath.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes wondering if she would ever convince him that dropping Blaxton off at Sunday schools every once in a while was a good idea. "Do you have any bad deeds?" she asked with a smile, but her smile turned into a bewildered frown at Blaxton's answer:

"No." Blaxton shook his head. "Not yet. Father Randolph said that good ones are harder to collect so I thought I'd get these first."

Jack coughed, stifling a chuckle.


	41. Not All Silence

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :]

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Not All Silence...**

"Dad?" Blaxton looked up at Jack who seemed lost in thought. "Who was that lady?"

"Old acquaintance," Jack said, wrinkling his forehead.

"She didn't look old," Blaxton countered, amused.

"Well," Jack cleared his throat. "Old acquaintance means... that you knew somebody a long, long, long time ago," he explained. "But you don't necessarily wish to continue... knowing that person," he muttered, his eyebrows knitted.

"It was funny how she didn't see all those empty chairs," Blaxton said, laughing under his breath at the memory.

Jack stiffened, already imagining Elizabeth's face when she would hear about a _young_ acquaintance forcing herself onto his lap.

"Now," he bent down on one knee, looking Blaxton straight in the eye. "Since that little accidental meeting was not important at all, and Mum doesn't like hearing about unimportant events, aye? I say we shouldn't bother her and tell her about this. What say you?" he asked hopefully.

To his contentment, Blaxton nodded.

* * *

"It sounds like a great day, such a busy morning and even busier evening," Elizabeth said, tucking the bed cover around Blaxton who had recounted to her in great detail the entire day that he had spent with dad ashore. "But what were you doing in the afternoon?"

Blaxton shook his head. "Nothing important," he said dismissively, stifling a yawn, and snuggling his cheek into a pillow.

"I see," Elizabeth said in a low voice, squinting.


	42. Networking

A/N: Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews! :)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**Networking**

"Now. How did it happen and why Mum can't find out about this?" Jack asked, tying the corners of a small handkerchief together, a fairly deep cut in Blaxton's palm safely hidden under the fabric.

Blaxton's frown caused by the pain only deepened because of the question. "I was just trying to make a sword," he admitted at last. "A wooden sword," he added with a bit of embarrassment in his voice.

"A sword," Jack echoed, wrinkling his forehead. "Out of wood." Blaxton nodded. Jack started to smile but his smile quickly turned into a slightly dismayed frown. "With a knife?"

Blaxton nodded again. "Because Mum hid my real sword, the one that we got for me so I could have it in seven years," he explained, reminding Jack of their little secret.

Jack winced. "Aye."

"I told Mum I was just _having_ it. I wasn't doing anything with it. But Mum took it away," Blaxton said sadly. "She said she'd give it to me when I'll be _twelve_," he pronounced the word as if it was the most unimaginable number ever.

"Twelve, eh?" Jack rubbed his forehead, wondering if hiding in a rum cellar was a good idea. It would at least spare him the inevitable conversation for today... maybe.

Blaxton fidgeted in his chair for a moment before making the decision to try asking the most important question. "Dad?" he started in a low voice, waiting for Jack to look at him. "I saw where Mum hid it," he said quietly. Jack squinted. "But I can't reach it..."

* * *

An incredibly loud noise made Elizabeth stop in the middle of the stairs, and she did not need more than a moment to realize what was happening. Shaking her head in disbelieving irritation she ran to the small, adjacent cabin where on the top of a tall wardrobe and among countless old pots, jars and other metal and glass objects she had placed Blaxton's sword.

She pushed the door open already planning on getting rid of the sword completely if it was Blaxton, throwing all the rum overboard if it was Jack, or sending Pintel and Ragetti to the brig.

To her astonishment, the person with Blaxton's sword in his hand and a guilty look on his face turned out to be somebody new.

"Walk the plank!" screeched the parrot landing softly on Mr. Cotton's shoulder.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and sighed.


	43. Wednesday

A/N: Thank you very much for all the wonderful reviews! :]

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Wednesday**

"Did it work?" Pintel asked, breaking the long-lasting silence.

Blaxton opened his eyes as well and looked at Ragetti who shifted his eyes between them.

"I don't know," he said, blinking.

"What do ye mean ye don't know?!" Pintel fumed. "It was yer idea!"

"How do we tell if it worked or not?" Blaxton asked after a moment of consideration, raising his hand and carefully touching the top of his head to check if the ashes were still there.

Pintel did the same.

The three of them were sitting motionlessly for the last hour but it did not hurt to check, just in case.

"I think we should start feeling sorrow, at some point," Ragetti said at last in a low voice. "Sorrow over our sins," he added seeing a baffled expression on Pintel's face.

They were all silent for a while.

"I think... I feel some sorrow already," Blaxton said with a twitch of his nose, wrinkling his forehead in deep concentration.

"Me too," Pintel quickly joined it. "So what now?" he asked, poking Ragetti with his elbow.

"Nothing," Ragetti said after pause with a small shrug.

Blaxton and Pintel exchanged confused looks.

"We have to stay like that for forty six days, withstanding all kinds of temptations," Ragetti explained calmly, closing his eyes.

"Forty six days?!" Pintel exclaimed, wincing from disbelief.

Cautiously, Blaxton began rising to his feet. "I'll be right back," he said answering Pintel and Ragetti's questioning looks. "I'll just ask Mum to tell us when forty six days will be over."


	44. Same Story

A/N: We're half-way through with the drabbles :) Only 44 more to go! lol

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Same Story**

"You don't understand why!" Elizabeth huffed in exasperation, covering her face with her hands.

"No, I really don't," Jack said, his eyebrows knitted.

"Well, you and Blaxton can't go to the market together because you went there a dozen times!" Elizabeth exclaimed, causing Jack's confusion to grow. "Unless you can explain to me why after those dozen times Blaxton asks me why does "buy" mean?" she asked with her eyes narrowed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jack winced.

"And while you'll be at it," Elizabeth continued, throwing his coat at him. "Be as kind as to introduce the concept of lying because I don't want to hear about a 'better version of what happened' again."

Jack opened his mouth to speak but Elizabeth silenced him with a kiss. "I'll be at the helm," she said, drawing back and marching out of the cabin with an amused smile on her face.

* * *

Jack sat down on the steps next to Blaxton, the second part of the conversation going even worse than he had expected.

"_Lying_?" Blaxton repeated the new word looking at Jack in bafflement.

"Aye," Jack nodded with a sigh.

They were both silent for a while.

"I was just trying to make the story more interesting," Blaxton said defensively.

"I know." Jack smiled. "But you don't have to make any story more interesting. Not when you're telling it to me or Mum," he added with a twitch of his nose. "Especially Mum."

"So I can... _lie_ to other people?" Blaxton asked hopefully, straightening up.

Jack waved his hands at him, anxiously glancing around to make sure that Elizabeth was not within the hearing range. "'Course not." Blaxton's face fell. "You can't tell better versions of what happened to anyone," he said in a loud voice. "But," he continued in a lower voice. "You can always tell a shortened version."

Blaxton considered this for a moment. "A shorter version will be even less interesting," he said at last with a pout.

"It won't be less interesting if you leave out all the less interesting details," Jack said narrowing his eyes in a conspirational smile. "You can make a story better without making it better. If your story is not too interesting you can make it more interesting by not mentioning the most less interesting facts." Blaxton's eyes lit up in concentration. "That way, even the facts that were at first not very interesting appear more interesting because they are, in fact, the only ones that are left. Savvy?"

"Savvy."

Jack smiled, but then the smile froze on his lips when he realized that it was not Blaxton who had said it...


	45. Good, Strong Name

A/N: This is a sequel to one of the previous drabbles, so unless you want to be as confused as Gibbs, I recommend taking a look at "The Awards That Follow" first ^^ Also, in this universe Gibbs is a captain of his own ship, that's why he's only visiting the _Black Pearl_ from time to time ;)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**Good, Strong Name**

"Mum! Dad!" They had heard Blaxton's voice even before he pushed the door open and ran into the galley. "Grandpa Teague ate my sash!"

Gibbs choked on his rum, quickly placing his mug back on the table. Elizabeth glanced at him, biting back a smile.

"You mean he escaped the brig?" Jack asked, wrinkling his forehead.

Gibbs' eyes widened in astonishment.

Blaxton nodded. "He squeezed through the bars... I think," he said with a shrug. "I tried to catch him but..." he raised his hand, "he bit my finger."

Elizabeth, who up to this moment was greatly enjoying the horrified expression on Gibbs' face, jumped to her feet, amusement gone from her face as she squatted down next to Blaxton to examine his finger.

"I told you we should've roasted him instead of letting him run around the ship like that," Jack said with a twitch of his nose causing Gibbs to blink repeatedly.

"No!" Blaxton quickly shook his head. Elizabeth gave Jack a pointed look. "I like Grandpa Teague," Blaxton said, hissing slightly when Elizabeth began cleaning the small wound on his finger.

"He only ever causes trouble," Jack insisted, wordlessly watching Elizabeth take the scissors from the table and cut off a piece of his shirt sleeve to tie it around Blaxton's finger. "And he's not even undead. You could probably shoot him only once."

Gibbs listened to the conversation with growing sense of dread, shifting his eyes between everybody.

"It's not his fault," Elizabeth said, planting a kiss on Blaxton's finger before letting go of his hand. Blaxton smiled. "He's gone mad since that day when you hit him," she said, glancing at Jack.

Gibbs nervously rubbed his forehead.

"I didn't hit him," Jack protested with a pout. "I just opened the door. How could I know he was sleeping behind it?" he glanced at Gibbs in search of support, suddenly noticing the strange expression on Gibbs' face.

"You knew he liked that spot," retorted Elizabeth.

"You look awfully pale, mate," Jack's eyebrows knitted as he poured more rum into Gibbs' mug. "Is everything alright?"

Gibbs leaned over the table and whispered. "Jack. It's surely bad luck, treating Captain Teague like that," he said with a grimace.

Jack looked at him for a moment in confusion, and only when he heard Elizabeth and Blaxton chuckle, the understanding dawned on him, his lips stretching into a smirk. "I guess you'll be relieved to know that it's a sheep." Gibbs blinked. "Grandpa Teague, Mister Gibbs, is a sheep. Although as far as bad luck goes you may actually be right," Jack added after a pause, squinting.


	46. Diligence

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Diligence**

"How could you tell him something like that?!" Elizabeth stomped her foot.

"I didn't tell him that!" Jack argued with a pout.

"Nobody else could possibly tell him something like that!"

"Maybe he just figured it out by himself?" Jack offered, and immediately regretted it at the sight of flames in Elizabeth's eyes. He took a hasty step backward, waving his hands in front of him. "I'm sure it's a thoroughly accidental and entirely incidental misunderstanding. I'll clear this up for you, love," he said with a quick smile, maneuvering his way toward the door.

* * *

"Mum isn't the first mate," Blaxton repeated.

Jack nodded. "Mum is co-captain."

"Mum is co-captain. But... Dad, you said-"

"Mum isn't the first mate. Mum is co-captain."

"Mum isn't the first mate. Mum is co-captain."


	47. Calling

A/N: Thank you so much for all the fantastic reviews! :)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**Calling**

"And then they made me their chief," Jack said with a complacent smile, narrowing his eyes at Elizabeth who had stifled a yawn.

They were sitting on either side of Blaxton, their heads resting against the headboard.

"And what happened next?" Elizabeth asked, biting back a smile.

"Next?" Jack blinked.

"Yes," she said, pursing her lips as if in deep thought. "I don't think we've ever got to hear what happened _after_ they had made you their chief," she said, struggling to keep amusement out of her voice.

Jack looked at her with a pout but before he was forced to come up with the rest of the story, Blaxton broke into the conversation, apparently following his own train of thought.

"Mum, Dad, how did you know you wanted to be pirates?"" he asked, wrinkling his forehead.

Jack and Elizabeth exchanged a look, caught off guard by the question.

"Because Grandpa Teague wanted to be a musician," Blaxton added, rubbing his eyes to fight off sleep.

Jack widened his eyes at him. "He did?"

Blaxton nodded. "He said he'd give me his guitar if I wanted to be a musician."

"But you don't want to be a musician."

"Jack," Elizabeth reached out, and pulled Jack's bandanna down a bit so that it fell over his eyes. Jack twitched his nose.

Blaxton laughed.

"You can be whoever you want, sweetheart," Elizabeth said with a smile.

Jack adjusted his bandanna and opened his mouth to speak but closed it at the sight of a silencing look in Elizabeth's eyes.

"I don't want to be a musician," Blaxton said, pursing his lips.

Jack smiled.

"That's alright as well," Elizabeth assured him.

"But if I won't be a musician, Grandpa Teague won't have anyone to give his guitar to," Blaxton said after a moment of consideration.

Elizabeth smiled. "That's really nice of you to think about that but I don't think Grandpa Teague would expect you to become a musician for the sole purpose of taking care of his guitar."

"May I inquire which guitar we are talking about here?" Jack asked all of a sudden, wrinkling his forehead.

Elizabeth looked at him questioningly while Blaxton went on describing the guitar in detail.

"Then you may tell Grandpa Teague you want to be a musician," Jack said with a smile. Elizabeth frowned in confusion. "Once you get the guitar, you can sell it and buy yourself a ship," he explained. Blaxton beamed.

"Jack!"

"Pirates!"

"I want to be a pirate," Blaxton said with conviction.

"You already are," Elizabeth said with a sigh.


	48. Role Model

A/N: Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Role Model**

"...and last but not least, it's a _sin_," Jack narrowed his eyes at the man, shaking him slightly by the shirt. "Taking somebody's property in such a devious manner is a very wrong thing to do. It is neither acceptable nor profitable, especially for your very own soul, mate. Savvy?" The man nodded quickly, and when Jack released him he immediately ran away, almost tripping over his own feet.

Jack smiled proudly, brushing the dust off his hands. "Sometimes a piece of friendly advice is all that's needed to change a man, straighten his path-"

"When Mum and I were here before Mum also caught a thief," Blaxton cut in.

"She did?" Jack asked, wrinkling his forehead. "And what did she tell him?" he asked with a small smirk, his face brightening at the realization that Elizabeth's speech could not have possibly been more impressing-

"Mum punched him, pinned him to the ground, asked which fingers and toes he would like to lose first, pressed a pistol to his head and told him not to ever try stealing something from us or anybody else again," Blaxton recalled in one breath, gesticulating.

Jack blinked and then for a moment just stared at Blaxton in silence. "Oh," he said at last with a twitch of his nose. "Well..." He cleared his throat while Blaxton waited patiently for him to continue. "Mum must have been in a hurry. When you have time, it's always better to talk than to threaten."

After a moment of consideration and a few additional questions Blaxton nodded.

"And I'm the bad influence here," Jack muttered to himself as they walked on.


	49. A Citizen's Life For Me

A/N: It's been a while since the last drabble... but I hope that writing a multi-chapter story is a good excuse ;) I promise more drabbles once _Thunderhearts_ is finished :)

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**A Citizen's Life For Me**

"The _Black Pearl_ is not a country," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It does have a territory," Jack countered with a smile. Blaxton nodded. "It _is_ a territory."

Elizabeth looked between Jack and Blaxton suspiciously. "There is no ruler, no government-"

"A Captain is a ruler, love, and seeing that you're a co-captain, two captains make a government, so we _are_ both, really. Simultaneously."

"And we have a flag and a national anthem!" Blaxton exclaimed happily, looking to Jack for approval.

"That's right, and it's something _you_ of all people can't argue with," Jack said with a smirk, squinting.

"National," Elizabeth echoed. "What about a nation?"

"Pirates!" Jack and Blaxton answered in unison.

Elizabeth sighed. "I suppose we also have a national holiday?"

"Of course!" Jack grinned. "The day when we got the ship back from Barbossa."

"Independence Day," Blaxton confirmed.

Elizabeth stifled a chuckle. "Alright. The _Black Pearl_ is a country. So can we now go _abroad_ to buy soap?" she asked, glancing toward the gangplank.

"That's exactly what we're trying to tell you, Lizzie," Jack said, exchanging a look with Blaxton. "We're patriots! Buying soap abroad wouldn't be a right thing to do."

"But we can't buy soap _on_ the _Black Pearl_," Elizabeth said through her teeth, her former suspicions proving correct.

Jack put a mockingly regretful expression on his face. "Aye. Soap doesn't _grow_ in our country but one has to accept one's country with all its flaws. If there is no soap in our country... we shall have no soap."

Elizabeth gave Jack a pointed look but noticing a hopeful smile on Blaxton's face she rolled her eyes, and to their delight gave up.

She allowed them to rejoice in their victory for a moment before stepping closer to Jack. "I guess it also doesn't matter that there is only one bottle of rum left on board." She bit back a smile at Jack's smirk beginning to fade. "Rum doesn't _grow_ on the _Black Pearl _either so drinking it would be highly unpatriotic anyway." She narrowed her eyes at him and walked off.

Blaxton looked up at Jack. "And that's why there are civil wars," Jack said with a twitch of his nose, pouting.


	50. One Can Only Hope

A/N: I hope everyone had an amazing summer! :)

& I just wanted to let you know that I will post the next chapter of _Thunderhearts_... as soon as I write it lol Hopefully, in a week or so :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**One Can Only Hope**

"But Mum said-"

Jack turned on his heels and leaned toward Blaxton. "She didn't really mean it," he said under his breath and winked reassuringly.

Blaxton did not look too convinced. "She didn't?" he asked half-hesitantly, half-hopefully.

"Aye," Jack confirmed with a smug smile, turning around to continue walking as noiselessly as possible.

Blaxton followed him, stopping in his tracks when Jack would stop to listen for any suspicious sounds, a frown of concentration turning into a smile every time all he could hear was perfect silence.

"Dad, what if-" Blaxton started but trailed off when Jack hushed him, wordlessly waving his hands at him in a slightly frantic manner. "What if Mum won't remember she didn't mean it?" Blaxton asked barely above a whisper.

Jack twitched his nose, glancing left and right before heading for the stairs. "There is no reason for her not to remember," he muttered with as much certainty in his voice as he could muster.

They made it safely up the stairs and began tiptoeing across the deck.

"But Dad," Blaxton's began once again, remembering to keep his voice quiet. "If Mum didn't mean it... why are we whispering and sneaking out while she's sleeping?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.

Jack squinted briefly. "Because... the fact that she didn't mean it doesn't mean that she wouldn't mean it _if_ she found out about that," he explained in a low voice.

Blaxton looked back at him, pondering his words for a moment, the expression on his face clearly indicating that something in Jack's reasoning was not making sense to him. "But Mum always finds out," he said at last, giving Jack a questioning look.

Jack blinked. "That's why we're whispering and sneaking out while she's sleeping," he said after a pause with a grin. "Savvy?"

"Savvy!" Blaxton agreed enthusiastically and it was only when they were half-way across the gangplank that his eyebrows knitted in confusion.


	51. News

A/N: Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! :]

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**News**

The galley's door was pushed open, and Blaxton ran inside, shouting to Jack a cheerful morning greeting. Stumbling slightly, he approached the table, and sat down in his chair.

Jack cautiously drew back, regarding Blaxton's feet with curiosity.

"Is there any particular reason why you're wearing only one boot today, sailor?" he asked, watching Blaxton take a piece of bread and very carefully tear it into two pieces. He placed one half on his plate leaving the other half intact.

Blaxton nodded, taking a cup and examining its contents. Jack narrowed his eyes at him.

„Mum said I should learn how to share," he explained, grabbing an empty cup, and pouring half of his water into it.

„Oh," Jack acknowledged with a smile, reaching out for his drink. But then his hand froze in mid-air, his eyes growing wide. "_Oh._"


	52. Literal Magic

A/N: Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Literal Magic**

"What is this supposed to do?" Pintel asked with a frown, giving Blaxton a skeptical look.

Blaxton narrowed his eyes in a small pout. "I don't know," he admitted reluctantly. "But it must do something!"

"I hope it ain't anythin' dangerous," Ragetti said, blinking.

"Aye," Pintel agreed with a firm nod. "Last time I saw somethin' magical it turned into biting monsters."

Ragetti shuddered at the memory of crabs.

"But it isn't a magic thing," Blaxton argued. "These are magic words."

"Calypso wasn't a thing," Ragetti observed matter-of-factly in a low voice.

Pintel shot him an annoyed look. "It ain't make no difference what it is as long as it's magical. Ye go first!" he pointed to Ragetti, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ragetti shifted uncomfortably.

"But there are three magic words so maybe we should say them all at the same time," Blaxton wondered out loud.

Pintel's eyebrows knitted in discontentment but after a moment of consideration he agreed.

"Alright," Blaxton straightened up, very glad that everything was going so well. "I will say _thank you_, you will say _I'm sorry_", he said looking at Pintel, "and you will say _please_," he said shifting his eyes to Ragetti.

To his bafflement, Pintel and Ragetti just stared at him in confusion. Blaxton raised his eyebrows looking between them questioningly.

"These ain't magic words!..." Pintel fumed, clearly annoyed.

Blaxton's face fell a bit. "Mum said they are," he said defensively.

"'Cause they are," to Pintel's surprise Ragetti came to Blaxton's aid. Pintel gave him an incredulous look. "Me mum always said that too," he said with a nostalgic smile.

"She did?" Blaxton inquired with a happy smile.

Pintel rolled his eyes and stormed off, grumbling under his breath.


	53. Tooth Captain

A/N: Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Tooth Captain**

"This is ridiculous," Elizabeth whispered, receiving a warning look from Jack who glanced at her over his shoulder.

She rolled her eyes and they continued crawling across the moonlit cabin.

When they were next to Blaxton's bed they stopped and holding their breath slowly raised their heads to the level of the bed.

Blaxton was fast asleep, his cheek pressed against the pillow, his hat placed on another pillow next to him.

Jack and Elizabeth exchanged a smile but when Blaxton shifted in his sleep they fell to the floor as fast as possible, their heads colliding.

Stifling hisses of pain, they waited a few moments before risking to check on Blaxton once again. Luckily, he was still asleep.

Jack motioned for Elizabeth to lift the pillow, and she did so very gently, biting back a chuckle at the sight of a tooth.

Slowly, Jack began sliding a spyglass under the pillow, his and Elizabeth's eyes fixed on Blaxton's face.

As soon as the spyglass was properly placed, Elizabeth dropped the corner of the pillow and soundlessly smoothed it with the palm of her hand.

Jack nodded, and they began creeping out of Blaxton's cabin, sighing with relief and laughing only when they were safely back in their own cabin.

* * *

On the next morning Blaxton ran into the galley, his face beaming with joy. "Mum! Dad! Look what I've got! It's a spyglass from Captain Tooth! He really did come!"

"Of course he did," Jack said with a smile. "He always does."

"And he brought you exactly what you wanted!" Elizabeth noted enthusiastically.

Blaxton nodded, showing off the spyglass to his parents. "But guess what, Mum."

"What is it, sweetheart?" Elizabeth asked while Jack examined the spyglass with narrowed eyes.

"Captain Tooth forgot to take my tooth!" Blaxton exclaimed joyously, showing Elizabeth the tooth.

Jack blinked. Elizabeth bit her lip.

"So I can leave it under my pillow today _again_!" Blaxton continued, clearly delighted by the prospect. "Captain Tooth will think it's a new one, right, Mum?"

"Well-" Jack started but Blaxton cut him off, too engrossed in inwardly rummaging through his wishes.

"I'll ask Captain Tooth for a sea turtle!" Blaxton announced happily, and then ran out of the galley to inform the crew about what had happened.

When the door closed behind him, Jack and Elizabeth looked at each other in silence.

"How are we going to sneak a sea turtle under the pillow?" Jack asked after a pause, sincerely worried.

Elizabeth laughed.


	54. Christmas Drabble III

A/N: **Merry Christmas! :)**

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Christmas Drabble III**

To Elizabeth and Jack's utter puzzlement, Blaxton only eyed his presents warily.

"Are _all_ of these from Santa Claus?" he finally asked, glancing up at his parents.

Jack and Elizabeth exchanged confused looks, not sure what the correct answer ought to be.

"Of course!" Elizabeth said at last with an encouraging smile that quickly faded at the disappointed look on Blaxton's face.

"I don't want them," Blaxton said decidedly, even though his eyes were sparkling with regret as he was pushing the boxes away from him.

"But these are your Christmas presents, sweetheart!" Elizabeth exclaimed, approaching him quickly.

"I'm quite certain Santa Claus took under consideration all the wishes that you'd mentioned in your letter," Jack said with a wink, joining Elizabeth who knelt beside Blaxton.

Blaxton, however, pouted even more at that and dropped his head, staring sadly at the floor.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked gently, taking his hands in hers.

Blaxton shrugged. "I don't want any presents from Santa Claus."

"And why would that be, sailor?" Jack asked, wrinkling his forehead.

Blaxton shifted his eyes between his parents, as if surprised they were even asking him about that. "Royal Navy doesn't like pirates. Henry Chevalle and Tom Asher said that Royal Navy wants all pirates dead and that they tried to hang you and Mum," he recited in one breath.

Jack and Elizabeth blinked in unison, now baffled even more than before.

"Well, even if this is true," Elizabeth started cautiously, "what does it all have to do with Santa Claus or your presents?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting in confusion.

Blaxton thrust up his chin. "Santa Claus is in the Royal Navy!" he said indignantly, clearly convinced that he was stating the obvious.

Jack's mouth twitched as he tried very hard not to burst out laughing, and he did not even need to look at Elizabeth to guess that she was fighting a similar reaction.

"Who told you that, sweetheart?" Elizabeth asked incredulously, risking a small smile.

Blaxton pursed his lips. "Nobody," he admitted after a pause but seeing a complete lack of understanding on his parents' faces decided to add: "He has a _red coat_!"

And this time neither Jack nor Elizabeth succeeded in keeping a straight face.


	55. It's a Relative World

A/N: Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**It's a Relative World**

"When did it happen?" Elizabeth demanded, watching Blaxton snuggle his face into her shoulder when Jack proceeded to cleansing the festering wound. "And how?" She frowned, finding it difficult to talk but knowing that it was the best way to distract Blaxton.

"It happened in Shipwreck Cove," Blaxton muttered with a pout.

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide. "A week ago?" she exclaimed incredulously, exchanging a look with Jack. She bit her lip when Blaxton gasped and grimaced, and kissed the top of his head, looking intently at Jack's hands.

Jack gave Blaxton a compassionate look before starting to treat the fairly deep and long gash that ran across his shin.

"I fell from a tree and there was _that rock_ on the ground," Blaxton said with a twitch of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut when the needle went through his skin for the first time.

"Rocks are treacherous," Jack said, his eyebrows knitted.

Elizabeth swallowed, unable to look at the proceedings anymore. Blaxton, on the other hand, after wincing for just a second peered through half-lidded eyes at what Jack was doing with certain interest, curiosity winning over the pain.

"They are!" Blaxton agreed, his gaze fixed on his wound.

"Why didn't you tell us that it had happened?" Elizabeth asked in a low, quite desperate voice, looking away when Blaxton shuddered slightly in her arms, clenching his fists but keeping quiet.

"I thought it wasn't important," Blaxton replied, remembering not to shrug in order to remain as still as possible.

"Why would you think that?" Elizabeth asked in astonishment, tightening her embrace around him.

"When that broken mast hit Dad during the storm, his leg looked just like mine," Blaxton explained... or thought that he explained because Elizabeth seemed rather confused. She glanced at Jack and to her further confusion noticed that he was struggling to keep amusement out of his face.

"Well..." she started uncertainly but Blaxton helpfully offered a clarification:

"I thought it was just a _scratch_. When Dad hurt his leg you told him that it was just a scratch and that he should stop talking about it."

Jack, who was just finishing his work chuckled but Elizabeth was too startled by the announcement to even think about shooting him a glare.


	56. Christmas Drabble IV

A/N: Since it's a bit too late for Christmas wishes I'd like to wish everyone an Amazing New Year! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Christmas Drabble IV**

On Christmas morning, Jack and Elizabeth had been laying in bed for a longer while before they began frowning and exchanging confused looks.

"It's oddly quiet," Jack muttered at last, straining his ears to catch any sound that might come from the adjacent main cabin where all the gifts were carefully arranged under the Christmas tree.

Elizabeth stifled a smile. "Maybe he overslept?" she whispered, biting her lip.

They waited for a few more minutes before getting up and checking the cabin which indeed turned out to be undisturbed, the presents sitting right where they had left them late at night.

* * *

"What do you mean you haven't seen him?" Jack asked rather irritably, looking at Pintel and Ragetti as if it was their fault Blaxton was nowhere to be found.

"Last time we saw him it was yesterday," Pintel repeated.

"He asked for a piece of rope," Ragetti offered quickly.

"A piece of rope?" Elizabeth repeated, wrinkling her forehead. "What did he need a rope for?"

"He didn't say," Pintel said with a shrug.

Jack rolled his eyes.

Before Jack or Elizabeth had a chance to ask further questions, something fell to the ground, landing on the deck between them.

Jack bent down and picked up a mistletoe branch. Without even looking at each other first, Jack and Elizabeth immediately shifted their eyes up in the air – and, sure enough, hanging from the crow's nest by what appeared to be a torn shirtsleeve, was Blaxton.

Elizabeth gasped.

* * *

"I didn't slip!" Blaxton protested with a pout. After a brief moment of hesitation he added: "Only my foot slipped."

"Aye, we've got that part, sailor," Jack said, squeezing Elizabeth's hand to keep her from pursuing that part of the story. "What we don't know yet, is why you were climbing to the crow's nest in the middle of the night with armfuls of mistletoe."

Blaxton sighed. "Grandpa Teague said it has to be hung in such a way that people can walk under it."

Jack and Elizabeth held his gaze, processing the explanation.

"Well," Jack cleared his throat. "Grandpa Teague was never keen at providing enough details for his plans to actually work."

"You would know," Elizabeth murmured wryly.

Jack narrowed his eyes at her. "I have a better idea," he added with a wink, giving Blaxton a conspirational smile.

* * *

"I don't think that's fair," Pintel grumbled under his breath. "Makes us look stupid."

"Everyone is doing that," Ragetti observed matter-of-factly, adjusting the hat on his head, a piece of mistletoe tied to it.

"I'm not used to hats," Pintel muttered miserably.

Ragetti straightened up, giving Pintel an assessing look. After some consideration he slowly extended his hand and tilted the mistletoe tied to Pintel's hat more to the right. "Now you look alright."


	57. Black Sheep

A/N: I should probably start by introducing myself... lol I'm sorry for disappearing from here but RL has been keeping me insanely busy & this is not likely to change... But I still love this fandom & miss our good, old pirate times :]

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack, Elizabeth, etc.

**Black Sheep**

„Dad?"

Blaxton asked without taking his eyes off the map he was patiently copying from a book that was splayed in front of him.

"Aye?" Jack said from across the table, narrowing his eyes at Elizabeth when she shifted in her seat, growing restless from her motionless position, and half-hoping she could clandestinely go back to plotting the course, but Jack would have none of that. He moved the map just out of her reach, receiving a glare in return.

Blaxton pursed his lips apparently rehearsing the question he was about to ask. "What is a _mutiny_?"

A piece of coal that Jack was holding slipped from between his fingers, granting Elizabeth (the portrait of whom Jack was busy sketching) an additional ear.

Very slowly, Jack lifted his eyes, meeting Blaxton's innocently inquiring gaze.

After a prolonged moment of silence, Jack cleared his throat. "A mutiny is when the crew is not happy with their captain and they decide to let the captain go."

"Literally," Elizabeth interjected, glad for the interruption that allowed her to stretch her stiffened muscles.

Jack shot her a look. "Aye," he said with a twitch of his nose. "Sometimes quite literally."

Blaxton propped his chin on his hands, pondering this. "But then they have no captain!" he objected, wrinkling his forehead.

"Well, usually the person who _inspires_ the mutiny becomes a new captain," Jack said grimly, uttering each word with difficulty and barely contained disgust.

Strangely enough, the explanation seemed to clear some kind of doubt that must have formed in Blaxton's mind, for his expression relaxed. "So a mutiny means choosing a better captain?"

Elizabeth bit her lip, shifting her gaze to the map rather than to Jack's face.

"Hardly," Jack replied icily, trying to regain his composure in order to provide a proper explanation. "Mutineers are most vile, vicious, wicked, nefarious of people, and the leader of the mutiny is always the most villainous, detestable, and despicable of them all."

Blaxton stared at Jack for a moment in what seemed like bafflement. Then he glanced at Elizabeth, as if expecting her to say something but she said nothing so he blinked, grimaced, and acknowledging the clarification with an "_oh_" went back to the map he was working on.

Jack and Elizabeth exchanged silent looks.

"And why would you ask questions such as these, sailor?" Jack decided to ask, bothered by the possible reasons.

Without averting his eyes from the map Blaxton replied: "Grandpa Teague said that when you were twice my age you led a mutiny on _The Dark Shadow_, and that's how you became the captain of your first ship."

Elizabeth used all the self-control she possessed to keep even a shadow of a smile off her face while the silence filled the cabin, disturbed only by the quiet sound of Blaxton's pencil scratching against the paper.

Then _Land ho!_ was heard from above and Blaxton ran out of the cabin to see what was happening.

When they were left alone, Elizabeth risked a look at Jack who sat with a dejected pout on his face. She laced her hand through his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I always knew you were despicable," she said with a mockingly resigned sigh, and when Jack grumbled in response she laughed.


	58. Company Thou Keepst

A/N: I hope you had a wonderful Easter & that you will carry Joy & Hope that it inspired with you throughout the year :]

Disclaimer: Jack, Elizabeth, etc. belong to Disney.

**Company Thou Keepst**

There were fourteen of them lined up on the deck of the _Black Pearl_. Jack counted them. Twice. Blaxton introduced them all, one by one, and Jack was somewhat impressed. Most of the names seemed difficult to remember, let alone pronounce.

"All of that is very interesting," Jack observed dryly. "But who are they?" he asked without averting his eyes from the children who were standing very still with their eyes fixed on him.

Blaxton looked between the ensemble and Jack. "They are my friends!" he said with a smile. "They want to be pirates!" he added happily and Jack noticed that all the faces lit up at that statement in apparent agreement. "They just need different clothes," Blaxton added expertly, wrinkling his nose. "And hats!"

New clothes would be in order indeed. In their fancy attires the children looked as if they had just walked out of the opera house.

Jack snorted to himself. He knew stopping for supplies in a respectable port was not a good idea, but Elizabeth knew better. She was the one who had agreed to letting Blaxton, Pintel, Ragetti and Cotton spend a few hours in town on their own while she had gone on her own errands.

"Has Blaxton come back-" Elizabeth called, emerging from below, and stopping dead in her tracks at the unexpected sight.

"Mum, these are my friends!" Blaxton announced, beaming, and for Elizabeth's benefit joyfully introduced everyone once again.

Elizabeth was smiling at first, but when she realized that every name was preceded by a _marqués_ or _condesa_ or _vizconde_, her smile quickly faded.

"Do their parents know they are here?" she asked in a low voice, shifting her gaze to Jack.

But the question was promptly answered by the tumult that was heard from the shore, complete with raised voices, soldiers in exquisite uniforms - and cannon fire.

Jack twitched his nose. "From the look and sound of it I would say they _might_."


	59. Kidnap and Ravage and Don't Give a Hoot

A/N: A drabble inspired by Jennifer Lynn Weston's idea to write a follow-up to the previous drabble. This is only very remotely related but I hope it will do ^^

& I would like to dedicate this drabble to djarum99 and geekmama! :) Happy Birthday! :]:]:]

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Kidnap and Ravage and Don't Give a Hoot**

"This is Mary and this is Sharon," Blaxton introduced two beautiful girls about his age who were standing next to him on the sunlit deck of the _Black Pearl_.

"Let me guess," Jack cut in before Blaxton managed to say anything more. "They want to be pirates," he offered, wondering how after what had happened mere two weeks ago Blaxton could be making the same mistake again.

But Blaxton shook his head. "They don't want to be pirates," he said, glancing at the girls who seemed curiously serious about the entire affair. Jack raised his eyebrows. "They _are_ pirates," Blaxton explained with a smile that somehow did not improve Jack's mood very much.

Blinking, Jack looked between the girls whose pirate garbs lent plausibility to Blaxton's words. And they did look rather fierce, Jack had to give them that.

"How about your parents?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"We left them a note," Mary said, thrusting up her chin.

"We left one note for our mum and one note for our dad," Sharon amended.

"We always just leave them notes," Mary added convincingly.

Jack acknowledged the statements with a sigh.

"See?" Blaxton beamed, considering the problem solved and dismissed.

* * *

"Notes? Really, Jack? You didn't consider it odd that six-year-old girls would just leave their parents _notes_ to tell them that they were going to spend a month sailing around the Caribbean?" Elizabeth asked in an agitated whisper, preparing the rifle.

"Well," Jack ducked in time for a cannon ball to miss him, "I used to leave Teague notes too."

The sound of splintered wood caused them both to wince.

"To reassure him of your safety, no doubt," Elizabeth said with a wry smile.

Jack twitched his nose, and Elizabeth just shot a him an exasperated look.

* * *

"They said they left you a note!" Jack argued, while Blackbeard's crew were tying up the _Black Pearl_'s crew, preparing to "fire them up" - the idea that worried Jack even before they made it clear they meant it _literally_.

Jack looked hopefully at Sharon and Mary who exchanged long glances but remained silent.

"_They_ left me a note?" Blackbeard asked darkly, narrowing his eyes at Jack who nodded.

Blackbeard reached into his coat pocket and tugged a piece of crumbled paper out of it. "Are you saying that it wasn't you who wrote this?" he asked, unfolding the piece of paper and waving it in front of Jack's face. Elizabeth also peered at the note.

"Well," Jack said having finished reading the note, "for one I can assure you that if we were to write a ransom note we probably wouldn't entitle it a... _ransom note_."

"And we probably wouldn't ask for sugared almonds and gingerbread on top of all the gold," Elizabeth observed cautiously.

After glaring at Jack and Elizabeth for a few more seconds Blackbeard turned around and looked between his daughters who promptly stepped back hiding behind Blaxton.

But before Blackbeard managed to say anything, a distant order "_Fire!_" was heard and the _Black Pearl _once again became engulfed by smoke, as Blackbeard's crew struggled to quickly free Jack's crew to enable them to fight.

"I know this ship," Blackbeard said, squinting into the distance. He was about to look at the ship through his spyglass when Sharon tugged on his coat.

"We left a separate note for mum..." Mary explained in a low voice.

A cannon ball flew threw the air, knocking one of the masts into the water. Jack brushed the splinters off his shirt and headed for the helm.

* * *

A few days later, after everything had ended happily with all the ships planning on meeting again some time in future, Jack, Elizabeth and Blaxton were sitting in the galley eating a marzipan dessert.

"One thing is quite interesting, though," Jack started conversationally, watching Blaxton who had his eyes fixed on his dessert.

Elizabeth gave him a questioning look.

Jack shifted his gaze to her. "Blackbeard said that neither of his daughters has learned how to write yet."

Out of the corner of their eyes, Jack and Elizabeth noticed Blaxton freeze with a spoon half way to his mouth.

"That's very interesting indeed," Elizabeth replied with as much interest as it was required by mere politeness.

"I just remembered that I promised to help Mr. Cotton," Blaxton said suddenly, jumping to his feet and heading for the door.

"And after that, sailor, you may go ahead and sweep the _entire_ deck," Jack said without turning around.

Elizabeth looked at Blaxton, her heart clenching at the sight of his head slumping between his shoulders as he uttered a very resigned "aye" before leaving the cabin, no longer appearing to be in a hurry.

After complimenting each other at the well-executed plan and responsible parental behavior, Jack and Elizabeth sat in silence, staring at their desserts with unseeing eyes. A few moments later, they simultaneously lifted their eyes, and after exchanging a long, wordless look, they quickly rose to their feet and rushed to the deck to help with the sweeping.


	60. Christmas Drabble V

A/N: Ha! You didn't see that coming, did you? Lol I know I'm not posting these drabbles often anymore, but one drabble a year is better than no drabbles, right? ;) This one was written for this year's Twelve Days of Christmas celebration at LiveJournal's blackpearlsails community.

I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas and I wish you all an amazing and truly happy New Year! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own _PotC_.

**Christmas Drabble 2012**

"Mum! Dad!" Blaxton ran across the gangplank, trinkets strapped to his belt rattling noisily as he mounted the steps and reached the helm where Jack and Elizabeth were standing."They arrested Santa Claus!" he gasped out, trying to catch his breath. "We have to get him out!"

Jack and Elizabeth exchanged silent looks.

"Why would Santa Claus ever land in jail in the first place?" Jack asked, twitching his nose.

"For the same reason you always do, I imagine," Elizabeth observed with a small shrug. "Through an unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circumstances that had nothing to do with him."

Jack briefly narrowed his eyes at her.

"We have to help him! We have to get him out!" Blaxton insisted ardently.

"Are you sure it's _really_ Santa Claus-" Jack started cautiously, but Blaxton cut him off and grabbed both Jack and Elizabeth's hands, pulling them with him.

* * *

"We can afford a delay, Jack," Elizabeth whispered, as they stood near the wall, waiting for the opportune moment to sneak inside.

"I'm not worried about the delay, Lizzie. I'm worried about taking aboard some white-bearded stranger of questionable reputation who is probably wearing a red coat and that's not my favorite color," Jack muttered.

Elizabeth looked at him for a moment before saying. "We could just tell Blaxton that Santa doesn't exist..." she started with a small smile that brightened when Jack, as she had expected, jumped in indignation at the idea. Then her expression became thoughtful. "I stopped believing the year my mother..." She drew a breath and Jack reached out to take her hand in his. "I asked my father why Santa Claus didn't come that year and he said that it was because he didn't exist. I know he didn't actually mean to say it like that, but he was so sad and resigned and nothing seemed to matter to him anymore, so those words just... came out, I guess." Jack lightly squeezed her hand and she looked up at him, smiling faintly.

"I never even got to believe," Jack said pensively with a small shrug. "The first time I remember my mum bringing Santa Claus up, I was maybe four, Teague interrupted her roaring that there was no Santa Claus, no fairies, no dwarfs, no elves. He got so carried away he said there was no reindeer as well."

A muffled shot from where Ragetti was hidden told Jack and Elizabeth that the door was clear and they scurried inside the building.

* * *

"And that's how I became Santa Claus," the white-bearded man who looked as if he had escaped from the most perfect portrait of the ideal Santa Claus concluded his tale, his feet propped comfortably on a small stool, a mug of rum in his hand, as he surveyed the _Black Pearl_'s great cabin with sparkling eyes, absently brushing glittering grains of dust off his red coat.

Jack and Elizabeth were sitting spellbound, quite unable to form one coherent sentence since they had got the man out of jail. Not only he looked like Santa Claus, but there was also something about him, about his words and his behavior that struck them as completely extraordinary. But it wasn't until they made it back to the ship and it turned out that the man knew so much about them, including what had happened years ago, that their cautious confusion developed into complete bafflement.

"Is your house made out of ice?" Blaxton questioned, sitting in front of Santa on the floor, looking up at him with a smile and eyes bright with curiosity.

Santa happily replied to all the questions, until after a few hours, at Jack's suggestion that he must be very tired, bid everyone a good night and went to a cabin assigned to him.

* * *

"I don't know, Jack. It doesn't seem right," Elizabeth whispered when they were lying in the bed in the dark cabin.

"There is nothing wrong with putting a guard in front of a guest's cabin, Lizzie. It's for his own safety," Jack replied in the same tone.

"You just want to keep an eye on him," Elizabeth said, turning her head to look at him.

Jack mirrored her movement. "I just-" He started but was cut off by a sound of bells so loud and enchanting that both Elizabeth and Jack froze for a moment before sliding off the bed and storming out of the cabin.

* * *

Cotton, who was left in front of the guest's cabin claimed that no one walked out of it, but when they checked inside, the cabin turned out to be empty and all that was left was an envelope sitting on the table and inside the envelope, in very fancy, gold letters there was a note expressing thanks for the rescue and the rum.

When Jack and Elizabeth climbed to the main deck, their eyes widened almost to the point of no return at the sight of a tall Christmas tree decorated with hundreds of colorful, glimmering ornaments and miniature lanterns that made the tree glow, the light spreading across the entire deck illuminating the packages under the tree. All the presents were wrapped in pieces of thick paper, with small tags bearing all the crew members' names.

They could not stop staring at the sight and after exchanging a couple of completely stunned, disbelieving looks, they slowly approached the tree and gazed at it some more in amazement until genuine smiles appeared on their faces and their eyes lit up with childish joy.

* * *

"It went quite well, eh?" the man said with a wink, taking off the white beard and giving it to Blaxton who helped him stash it into a chest along with the red coat, Santa's hat, boots and everything else.

"Aye!" Blaxton exclaimed enthusiastically. "Thank you! But the other one may be harder," he said with a small sigh, twitching his nose, and handing the man a piece of paper with the name and address on it: _Captain Teague, Shipwreck Cove_...


End file.
